


Remember Me for Centuries

by AmaranthineRose



Series: Set the World on Fire [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Canon Divergence - Thor: The Dark World, Darcy Lewis's Taser, F/M, Healthy Relationships, Hybrids, Jane Foster & Darcy Lewis Friendship, Not Thor: Ragnarok (2017) Compliant, Post-Thor: The Dark World, Steve Rogers & Thor Friendship, Thor (Marvel) is Not Stupid, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-27
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2019-03-30 21:31:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 57,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13960431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmaranthineRose/pseuds/AmaranthineRose
Summary: With his abdication of his claim to Asgard's throne and the deaths of his mother and brother, Thor returns to Earth to be with Jane and find his own way in life, only for them both to find that the danger is not yet past, and that their lives may yet find ways to change even more - all while an unknown enemy plots and waits for their group to rise from the shadows. The games on Earth might be different than those of Asgard, but Thor must find a way to win if he wishes to protect those he loves.Or, Thor and Jane embark on the journey to parenthood, Thor adopts a ninety-something year old, and Darcy is going to be the best auntie ever.





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane and Thor marry. Unexpected curves in the road throw their lives off-balance. Darcy threatens to stab people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lied. Originally, I was going to start the sequel to I Am the Storm first, but inspiration struck otherwise after Ragnarok came out, and Thor somehow ended up in a far larger part in this series than I thought. A lot of things changed because of it, but in fun ways, so I'm pretty excited for this. 
> 
> Assuming Dark World took place in early November 2013, this begins in late December 2013, right after Christmas, approximately a year after Iron Man 3 and four months before Winter Soldier, though it will eventually overlap with I Am the Storm and a few parts of I Need Somewhere to Begin and We're Going Down Swinging. I'll note times and dates when needed.
> 
> Title comes from Fall Out Boy's Centuries. Because yes, half of these stories' titles are coming from Fall Out Boy.

 Once upon a time, an Asgardian came to Earth, fell in love, and stayed among the mortals.

When the Frost Giants invaded, Asgard followed to protect the realm of men. They won the war, and sent the armies of Jotunheim scrambling back. Asgard followed across the stars and took the fight to their world of ice. The King of Asgard found a baby and began a series of events that would shake the universe to its core.

But that’s another story. And this one focuses on an Asgardian who stayed, a warrior who stayed.

Before the son of Odin, however, there was another.

The tale was recorded by a monk, a story told by his lovestruck sister. It became a common bedtime story in Tønsberg, where it was whispered that this Warrior first stepped onto Earth, an army of gods sent to stop the cold from destroying life itself.

Some things were lost in the translations, to time and to retellings and to the tongues and memories of man. But some remained. Including the name of the man, the Warrior Who Stayed.

The truth, however, is always stranger than fiction.

The Warrior Who Stayed became the Warrior Who Wandered. He did not fall in love with a Midgardian woman, as some versions of the tale claimed. He fell in love with Midgard itself, with its people and seas and night time skies.

Though, of course, he occasionally loved a man or woman on the side.

Several centuries after the battle against the Frost Giants, in a little town that was once a smaller village, the Warrior returned. There was a woman there, bright and beautiful with golden hair and a shining laugh, the daughter of the Church Keeper, the guardian of secrets that were meant to be buried, of gods and powers far beyond any mere mortal.

And she, clever and bright and beautiful as she was, recognized who the Warrior truly was. It might not have been true love, but it was something. No matter what it was, it not enough to keep the Warrior Who Stayed there in that small village.

With a single kiss and a life growing in her belly, the Warrior Who Stayed became the Warrior Who Left. And he left behind something more than a kiss.

The little girl born over half a year after the Warrior left had the blood of Valhalla in her veins, the stars in her eyes, and the strength of gods in her hands.

And that was the story Astrid Soren grew up hearing, as her blood sang of stars and gods and a life beyond her own.

* * *

 

Thor Odinson was not used to roommates.

He had spent his considerable lifespan with a suite of rooms for himself, with servants and maids keeping it clean. He had not shared a room since he and Loki were children. Frigga had ended that arrangement after one too many incidents of stabbing.

Loki claimed he snored. Thor thought he was full of shit. Frigga decided that she was not dealing with it, and separated them.

But living with roommates, in a limited space, was a beast of another measure. Especially when he couldn’t fit into the shower without standing sideways.

To be fair, when he returned to Midgard only days after he left, there were four people already living in the flat. His addition turned into what seemed like seven, with his eating habits and size. Selvig had been the first to move out, after accepting a position at the University of Cambridge, following proof that he was perhaps not completely insane. Ian had returned to student housing, though he was at the flat daily and had his own key to this place.

That left him, Jane, and Darcy as roommates. And even that was a challenge. To their credit, though, they were managing it. For the most part.

“Dammit, Thor, stop leaving the dixie cups on the sink! The trash is right there!”

Yes, living with roommates took some getting used to.

“It was not me this time,” Thor called out from where he stood on the balcony, leaning forward against the railing. In the month he’d been on Earth, this was a place he spent much of his time, looking out at this world of man he was making his own.

It was different compared to the views of Asgard he had back in the palace at home, but the thought of watching the world was the same. And London was new to him still, the lights and the laughter and movement of the city, even as the December chill started to hit.

He did like London. He was glad to be there. And he was grateful for the life he’d built there.

“You sure? Because it’s been you every other time, Thor.”

Thor gave a genuine chuckle, standing up and moving into the doorway to poke his head in. “I promise, Darcy, I did not leave the cup on the sink.”

He glanced to the living room, where Darcy was emerging from the apartment’s single bathroom. A simple white dress was over her arm, and she now had a small red ball in her mouth, the multicolored heads of needles poking out of it and her hands carried multiple other items. She scowled at him, dropping the small red ball onto the couch before scowling over at him.

“We’re gonna housebreak you yet,” she muttered, sounding as determined as he’d ever heard before.

“Actually, that was me, I was taking some Tylenol and got distracted when Mom called double checking something for the food,” Jane corrected, poking her head out from the bedroom and shooting Thor an apologetic look. “He’s innocent this time.”

“My bad, Thor,” Darcy called. She scowled as she spread the dress over the coffee table, pulling her phone out as she called someone. “Boyfriend, I need you to pick up a few things for me. It’s for wedding dress shit.”

Jane rolled her eyes and smiled back at Thor, ducking back into their bedroom. Thor frowned, watching her before following, making sure to close the balcony door behind him. There’d been multiple long discussions about how they had to pay for heat in London. It was odd, the little things he missed about Asgard.

“You are unwell?” Thor asked. He closed the door to the bedroom behind him, watching Jane carefully. “If you wish to postpone this until your health recovers-“

“Hey.” Jane moved to him, taking his hand before pointing out, “I want this. I promise you that. I want to do this. Besides, it was just a bit of an upset stomach. I’m not rescheduling.”

This being something huge for both. Even if his brother and father were right in consideration to the span of her life compared to his, this was important to Thor as well. This was something that he wanted to do. This was something they both wanted to do.

No matter how long it lasted, Thor loved her, and she loved him. And he wanted to do something with it.

But he wanted to make sure that Jane wanted it as well.

“Postponement does not mean it never happens,” he pointed out quietly, kissing the top of her head.

Jane snorted. “Darcy has spent twelve plus hours on fixing that dress. She’ll stab us in our sleep if we do.”

“I have been stabbed enough times. Depending on the blade, it is not so bad.”

She laughed, shaking her head before leaning up on her toes and kissing his cheek. “You know, hearing about your childhood worries me sometimes. A lot of times, actually.”

“I survived growing up, as did my brother.”

“I think that’s more of a credit to your mother than to you, hon.”

Thor gave a genuine laugh. It was still hard to think of his mother, even a month after the fight against the Dark Elves, after his brother and mother’s deaths. He missed them. Even after everything Loki had done, he missed his brother, what Loki had been before anger and fear had twisted him into something monstrous.

Life moved on. And Thor knew that his mother would have been thrilled to witness this day, and that she was watching wherever she was. Maybe Loki would have been glad too. Just maybe.

“Unless this is you trying to find a graceful out,” Jane said after a few moments, raising an eyebrow. “Because yeah, you proposed and all that shit. But if you want to back out… you say so now. I understand. It’s been a crazy month and this-“

Thor leaned down, kissing her deeply. His hand curved gently around the back of her neck, tugging her close to her. Jane’s words fell silent, and a hand went to his chest, a sigh slipping out at he pulled away a few moments later, a quiet smile that warmed his heart crossing her face.

He loved her. He truly loved her.

“I want this,” Thor promised. “As much as you do. I want to marry you, Jane. More than anything.”

The smile on Jane’s face was soft and true with love that Thor still could not believe was returned to him. Any response she might have given, however, was cut off from a muffled voice on the other side of the door.

“Good, because I’ve spent like twelve hours on this fucking dress, someone is going to wear it tomorrow, and I’m pretty sure only one of us is ready for marriage.”

Jane rolled her eyes. “Are you eavesdropping again?”

“Yeah, but I’m also trying to get your attention to say I will totally stab you if you cancel now and because Thor’s friends just arrived.”

It was then that Thor heard the loud, familiar chatter of his friends. Sif and the Warriors Three had been shocked when Thor had reached out to say that he was getting married, and that he wanted them to attend. Getting a wedding ready in a month wasn’t easy, but the Warriors Three were more disappointed that that festivities would only be for a day.

“You sure we’re ready for this?” Jane asked, already hearing the loud chatter. She winced when something shattered, with Darcy’s yelling coming a moment later.

Thor chuckled. “I can only hope.”

* * *

 

Jane Foster had been pragmatic since childhood.

Part of it had been out of necessity. Earning a PhD in astrophysics took a lot of discipline, and she’d graduated with top marks when she’d become Doctor Foster. The other part had been a natural reaction to growing up with a mother who occasionally put the television remote in the freezer and the TV dinners in the drawer of the coffee table, who wore her heart on her sleeve and was an endlessly hopeless romantic.

Then again, considering that she was marrying a man she’d spent a few weeks with physically in two years, a man who was a prince of another realm and technically an alien, maybe Jane had inherited her mother’s romantic heart after all.

At the very least, Jill Foster was absolutely thrilled for her daughter and very possibly living vicariously through her.

“I can’t believe we’re here,” Jill squealed, brown eyes bright as she smoothed out her daughter’s dress. “Oh, Janey, you look beautiful… granted, you’re always gorgeous, but still…”

Okay, very obviously living vicariously through Jane.

“Mom, breathe,” Jane teased gently, standing up and squeezing her mom’s hand. “I can’t have my mom passing out form excitement before the wedding.”

Jill huffed a breath. “Let me be excited. This is hopelessly romantic.”

“And it’s odd for me doing anything romantic,” Jane admitted, giving a weak smile. When she’d told her mother about Thor, Jill had been concerned enough about Jane getting heatstroke that she’d flown to Arizona and shown up randomly.

Of course, finding her practical daughter moping over an alien prince wasn’t the best thing to help with a mother’s worry.

Jill only paused, eyes flickering to her daughter as she gave a tired sad. “Not so much.” She smoothed back Jane’s hair and said, “Your father was the most painfully practical man I’d ever met in my life. I was a senior in college, for art. He was starting his PhD for astrophysics.”

She’d heard bits and pieces of this story before. But after his death over twenty years before, Jill Bennett rarely spoke about Hal Foster. Most of what she knew of her father had come from Selvig. It’d simply been too painful for Jill to talk about Jane’s father.

“I thought that he was going to tell me to get an abortion and never speak to me again.” Jill reached into her purse and pulled out a silver necklace with a single garnet on it. “Instead, he pulled his high school class ring off his finger and asked me to marry him then and there.”

A lump formed in Jane’s throat, and she blinked back a few tears when she realized what was on that necklace. She could remember playing with the ring her father cherished, the metal cool but far too big around her tiny fingers. “I thought the ring was buried with Dad,” she whispered.

“The ring itself was. When he was diagnosed, he took the garnet out and told me to save it for you someday.” She gestured towards Jane, and Jane nodded, turning around and tugging her hair back.

“He would be so proud of you. As Doctor Foster, as a daughter, and a human being.” The circle shaped garnet tapped against her collarbone, and Jane couldn’t help the quiet smile. “As proud of you as I am.”

Jane didn’t let her speak further. She pulled her mother into a tight hug, Jill holding onto her daughter, not letting her go.

“I love you,” Jill whispered. “I don’t care you’re about to get a Nobel Prize and marrying a prince. You’re my girl. I love you.”

“Love you too, Mom.” Jane wiped away a few tears. Darcy would kill her if she ruined her makeup. “I just…” She shook her head before looking back over, smiling softly. “Wish he could have been here, you know?”

“I do, darling. I do.” Jill smoothed back, clearly trying to pull herself together as to not look red for her daughter’s wedding. “So. Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.”

The necklace could count as something old. It was old and familiar and she knew that she would always cherish it. Her dress was new. Technically. Darcy found it in a consignment shop and Jane was surprised how much she loved it, and Darcy’s skills with a needle were enough to give it a modern, new edge. The something borrowed was her tiny silver earrings, Darcy’s. And the something blue… well, the underwear had to count for something.

“Are you ready?” Jill asked, squeezing her daughter’s hand.

Jane nodded. “Yeah,” she whispered, hand going to her the necklace. “I am.”

* * *

It was a combination of how London viewed Thor following the fight against the Dark Elves, how much Stark’s money could throw at someone, and Jane’s prestige in the astronomy community that they were able to get this venue at all.

Granted, it had also taken the promise of her consulting there, but Jane wasn’t exactly upset about the chance to work with the royal observatory. It seemed to fit getting married there, considering her and Thor’s relationship. Jane personally would have preferred marrying in Puente Antiguo, but she would take the royal observatory as well.

Plus, Puente Antiguo was understandably slightly wary of Asgardians. And a fair few had come for the wedding.

They kept the guest list small as they could. Jill, Darcy, Selvig, and Ian, of course. A few of her colleagues from Culver had made their way over. A friends of her mother's, her long-time best friend Elaine Cromwell-Simmons, an artist named Vanessa Marianna that her mother had known for almost a decade. The Asgardians among them were the Warriors Three and Sif.

To Thor’s genuine joy, several Avengers had attended; Clint and Natasha were doing… something back in New York, they hadn’t said, but they were out of contact and sent a gift off the registry. Pepper and Tony had brought a jet over, with Steve and Bruce tagging along with them. There was something to be said of the joy of the people you cared about on your wedding day.

But the people there didn’t matter. From the moment she stepped into the aisle, all of Jane and Thor’s attention were on each other.

Their relationship had never been convention. She’d hit him with her car, twice. He had left her on Earth to stop his brother, and then had come back to Earth, not seen her, and returned to Asgard with his criminal brother only to come back to Earth when the Aether infected her. They had never been conventional.

But at the same time, they both knew that this was the right choice. Thor was sure of that with her hand in his the entire ceremony, light dancing in his eyes and a smile that beamed so much it almost hurt to look directly.

And as the crowd behind them applauded, Jane and Thor kissed for the first time as wife and husband.

* * *

Towards the end of the reception, Thor noticed someone standing and watching from the back.

The Allfather appeared no different than any man at the wedding, in a simple formal outfit, his usual metallic eyepatch replaced for something subtler. His single eye met Thor’s, and he gave a simple smile, raising his glass of ale.

Thor raised his own in response and simply smiled. Captain Rogers came over at that point, patting Thor’s shoulder and telling him congratulations, distracting the abdicated prince.

When the son of Odin looked back up a minute later, his father was gone. In his place was a little box with a tiny kitten in it, so similar to the ones that Thor remembered his mother having when he had been growing up. There was something in its eyes that suggested intelligence, and as Darcy cooed over it and Jane accepted she had very little choice in having it in her life, Thor could only smile.

The little gray kitten, named Nanna, was the clear star of the reception.

* * *

It happened almost six weeks later.

Darcy was spending most nights at Ian’s student housing flat, claiming that she needed space from living with newlyweds. Thor and Jane took advantage of that and London’s expansive takeout menus, along with the fact that they could catch Thor up on culturally important films and shows without Darcy’s commentary behind them. While typically amusing, it could be grating.

They’d gotten Indian food that night, at a place recommended by Bruce Banner, of all people. Jane was still amazed that her life was at a point where they were taking food recommendations from the Hulk.

They’d made it safely back home, Thor carrying the takeout bags, and paused in the hallway to talk with their neighbor. Elisa Sinclair was a nanny for a few families in the city, was from Wales, and was a genuinely charming and kind neighbor who, to her credit, had never flirted with Thor. Jane thought that the boyfriend she mentioned from New York probably had something to do with it. Elisa even got along well enough to go out for drinks with Darcy on occasion.

The conversation had drifted to London weather versus New Mexico weather when she felt lightheaded.

Jane frowned, her hand moving to the wall, sliding against parts of the wall where it’d been hastily repaired from someone falling into it. She could feel the blood rush through her ears. It almost reminded her of the feeling of the Aether inside of her, but she knew that was impossible.

She was light-headed. That was what it was. She was fine.

Her body swayed on her feet as she felt the blood drain from her face. Something was wrong. Something was seriously wrong, and when she opened her mouth, nothing came out.

“Jane?”

Thor’s voice felt like it was coming across the distance from Earth to Asgard, like from the tunnel of the Bifrost.

Something was wrong. She’d never been lightheaded like this. She’d never felt like she was going to throw up and pass out at the same time. She remembered her dad doing so. He’d had migraines too, and fainting spells and fevers, and then he’d died six months after the doctor said the word cancer.

She swayed on her feet, trying to grab a hold of the wall to stop her from falling.

It was too late. Everything went black, with Thor’s alarmed yell of her name, his arms catching her before she passed out, and Elisa already pulling out her phone to call an ambulance.

Jane passed into darkness and prayed she’d wake up.

* * *

There was something inexplicably amusing about Thor sitting in the small plastic chair in a hospital room.

The only privacy they had in the room was a thin curtain that made up the fourth wall of the examination area. Her clothes were nearby, and they’d taken a blood test nearly an hour ago to try and get an idea of why she had fainted.

Thor, however, looked incredibly anxious. And it was starting to drive Jane crazy, no matter how much she was amused by how he was fitting in a chair that looked like it should break underneath him.

“Stop looking so uncomfortable,” Jane told him, reading carefully through the magazine she’d brought. There was an article detailing Pepper Potts’ rise to fame as CEO of Stark Industries. She’d met Pepper at the wedding, but it was still somewhat of a shock to her that she was on texting terms with one of the most powerful women in the world.

And she wanted a distraction from the fact that she’d fainted in the hallway of her building three hours ago.

“I am not uncomfortable for the reasons you think.” The look on her husband’s face was a mix between amused and horrified. “This is where you wait for your healers, your doctors?” he asked, looking back over at her. “Truly? It seems so-“

“Depressing?” Jane suggested.

“Beyond so. And impersonal.” He gestured at the off-white walls and the bland landscape pictures on the walls. “It is stressful enough to be here. You think they would try to encourage relaxation and comfort.”

“Hospitals aren’t the most calm and relaxing place.”

Thor gave a thoughtful nod. “But I still believe there should be an attempt. I doubt many people come here on good days.”

He had a point there. Jane shook her head. “I’ll talk to the management,” she promised solemnly, shaking her head with a quiet smile. “As long as you promise not to start gawking at how primitive human technology is.”

Going to Asgard for even a brief time, no matter the circumstances had been almost cruel. To see such technology and then go back to Earth was a slap to the face. She knew it was unlikely she would go back any time soon, but she could manage with the toys she’d gotten for her wedding.

“I will do my best.” Thor cracked a smile.

It was still so weird to call him that, but she loved it. Darcy claimed that they were still in their sickeningly sweet honeymoon phase, and Jane wondered if it would wear off.

The astrophysicist groaned. “Trust me, it drives me crazy too. No propulsion balls, no advanced healing or flight…”

“No soul forges,” Thor hummed with a sly smile.

“Quantum field generators,” Jane corrected, rolling her eyes fondly at him. “I do love those magnetic-propulsion balls though…” She wouldn’t lie to anyone, she thought they were by far the coolest thing she’d ever seen in her life.

Thor gave a bellowing laugh, clearly amused. “We received a cat from the Allfather of the Nine Realms, countless other treasures, but your favorite favorite gift from our wedding were the ones Volstagg literally took from his son’s bedroom.”

“Excuse you, that magnetic-propulsion ball is absolutely amazing. And he gave me two of them. One to take apart, and one to play with.”

“You know what we call it in Asgard?” Thor asked, raising a brow over at his wife.

Jane looked up, her curiosity piqued. “What do they call it?”

“A ball.” Thor laughed when Jane threw her magazine at him, the grin on his face clear enough, and Jane couldn’t even hold back her laughter.

Their laughter died when the curtain was pulled open, revealing a woman a bit older than Jane with dark, curly hair and light brown skin. A clipboard was to her chest, and considering that she was coming into the room where an Avenger’s wife was waiting for news about what was wrong, with said Avenger nearby, she was incredibly cool, calm, and collected.

“Doctor Foster…” The doctor paused before looking over and admitting, “I’m not going to lie, I’m not sure what to call you.”

“Thor is fine,” the Asgardian assured her, managing the charming smile that relaxed nearly anyone intimidated to meet him. “Though I also approve of Mr. Foster.”

Jane rolled her eyes, though the joke was enough to cause some tension leave her shoulder, and to make the doctor laugh. “Doctor Foster, Thor. I’m Doctor Allison McCoy. I wanted to come and bring you your test results.

She looked too calm. The doctor would not be this calm if it was cancer, but Jane had to know.

“It’s not cancer, is it?” Jane asked quietly, feeling her heart sink to her stomach.

Her father died from cancer, from a tumor the size of a golf ball in his brain. He’d passed out in the bleachers of one of her science fairs when she was eleven years old, and he’d lasted six months after diagnosis.

Hal Foster hadn’t recognized his own wife or daughter in the end.

Thor knew that. He reached out to her, taking her hand and holding it, perhaps steadying himself as much as he was steadying her. They’d gotten married six weeks ago. They’d lost each other more than once already. She did not think that she could handle it ending this quickly.

She didn’t think she could handle dying like her father had.

That fear turned to relief when the doctor shook her head. “God, no, Doctor Foster. It’s not cancer. It’s… it’s still serious. But it is not cancer.”

Jane knew what was coming a few moments later. Somehow, just somehow, she knew what was going on with her.

It wasn’t cancer. It wasn’t a tumor, benign or otherwise. But it was something just as life changing, something that Jane was hitting herself for not realizing was a distinct possibility.

Because why would she think it was a possibility? Her pragmatic streak had gone out the window when a gorgeous Asgardian prince literally fell in front of her car. She should have realized it and just gone to the fucking store and bought a test.

In some ways, cancer might have been easier.

“You’re pregnant, Doctor Foster.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Jill Foster** \- Diane Lane  
>  **Elisa Sinclair** \- Tamsin Egerton  
>  **Doctor Allison McCoy** \- Angel Coulby  
>  For the curious, Nanna the cat is a Norwegian forest kitten. She isn't going to be little for long. The next chapter will be out within a week. She was originally named Freya, but I decided I needed that name later.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor searches. Jane processes. Darcy googles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I lied. Inspiration and stress got to me, but I just started a new position at my job and it's a lot less stressful after one day, so everyone wins, including my writing. But I'm starting the third chapter ASAP, so we'll hopefully get something back soon enough.
> 
> A trigger warning for a mention of abortion.

“Wait. You’re-“

“Yep.”

“That’s possible?”

“Apparently.”

After absorbing the shock of Doctor McCoy’s news, demanding a second and then third blood test, and then picking up four pregnancy tests from the local drug store and peeing on each one of them while drowning what was practically a pack of water, Jane and Thor were forced to admit that yes, Jane was pregnant.

The appointment they had the next day made them realize just how serious this truly was.

High blood pressure. Gestational diabetes. Nausea and the fainting spell. Jane was in for a long road.

That lead to the other issues: telling the people in their lives. Jill was beyond thrilled about her first grandchild, squealing and hugging Thor tight enough that even he winced. Selvig was shocked but seemed thrilled for them. Of course, Darcy would have the oddest reaction to it, when they told her one night after she came back from a date with Ian.

Darcy looked over to Thor, shaking her head. “Did you know that was possible?” she asked. “I mean, technically you both are different species…”

“Apparently similar enough to breed,” Jane said, knowing that they had this conversation between them a thousand times. Selvig and her mother said similar things.

“Like a chihuahua and a husky,” Darcy hummed, ignoring the glare that Jane shot her way. “Maybe not a chihuahua. But something. Maybe Thor’s a golden retriever.”

“Darcy,” Jane warned, leaning her head back and taking a deep breath.

She was pregnant. She was pregnant with a half-Asgardian child, with Thor’s child, and she had no idea how they were going to handle this.

Hell, Jane had never been sure if she wanted kids. Children had been something she’d never thought about. She’d had a pregnancy scare once after her breakup with Donald, and the only thing she’d felt was relief when she’d gotten her period a few days later. This… this was new territory.

She knew that there were options. But she knew that she had already made her choice. She’d gone with a college roommate to help her get an abortion, back when they’d been a PhD and med student respectively. That had been the right choice for her back then.

She knew what her choice was. She was just still half terrified of the repercussions of her choice – of having her and Thor’s child.

Jane stood up, sighing before saying, “I need some air.”

She turned away from the couch, walking out onto the deck and closing the glass door behind her. She knew that she was being rude to Darcy, shutting Thor out, but she needed time to process it. She plopped down on the bench, sighing as she looked out, just letting her thoughts drift. She was trying to process it. Did it make her a bad person, a bad mother, if she still wasn’t done processing being pregnant?

The astrophysicist stared out at the city for a while, not caring at the slight chill in the air. She wasn’t sure how long it was until the door opened again, but she sighed when she felt a blanket move over her shoulders.

“Jotunheim might be warmer tonight,” Thor mentioned as he sat down next to her. His fingers steepled together on his lap, leaning forward thoughtfully.

“New Mexico would be,” Jane replied simply. Things were easier a few years ago, that night they’d spent talking about the universe under the stars.

She’d fallen in love with him that night. She knew that now. And she knew that he’d fallen in love with her then too. And now so much had changed, and in ways that Jane still wasn’t sure were good or bad.

Her hand moved to her stomach, almost unconsciously, and she sighed. “I know I should be more enthusiastic,” Jane said quietly. “I’m just… still in shock.”

Thor nodded softly in understanding, his hand moving to her back as he rubbed it gently. He knew what to say most of the time. And she knew that he was in shock just as much as she was. This was huge. This was going to change both of their worlds forever.

“There is no right reaction when you find out you’re with child,” Thor pointed out simply.

Jane scoffed. “Then why does it feel like I’m having the wrong reaction?”

His hand reached out to her. “Then tell me what you’re thinking.”

Jane didn’t answer for a few moments. “When I think about them, I don’t feel scared,” she mentioned, looking back over to Thor. “I just – it’s fast. I know we’ve always been fast. But I thought we would have more time married, you know?”

“I did not know a child was possible for us,” Thor admitted, watching her carefully. “All that I cared for was marrying you, spending what time we have together… together.”

Jane managed a quiet smile, sighing before looking back over at him. She scooted over a bit, moving into Thor’s arms as he wrapped one around her shoulder. She closed her eyes, knowing that this was one of those conversations she always hated, but it had to be done. And she knew that there were things they both had to say.

“You might outlive it,” Jane pointed out quietly.

She felt him stiffen next to her. Her mortality and his longevity were ghosts they’d learned to live with. And neither wanted to think about that now. But it was the truth.

And even if their half-Aesir baby would live longer than her, Thor would more likely than not bury their child.

“More likely than not, I will,” Thor admitted. He knelt in front of her before saying, “But before that happens, they will have a wonderful life I will be proud to watch, and I will follow them into Valhalla after, where you’ll be waiting.”

Jane nodded, wiping away a few tears. “I don’t know if I’ll be a good mom,” she said simply. “But… but I want us to try. It’s an unknown. But it’s our unknown.”

Thor took her hand into his, squeezing it gently before his other hand went to her stomach. “So we want to keep it?” he asked, watching her face carefully. “Because we know this will not be easy. Having this child nor raising it.”

“Medicine is pretty damned advanced now,” Jane pointed out, managing a quiet smile. “And… and I want to try this. I want this for us. We know I’m having complications. It’s just… we be careful. We make sure I stay healthy.”

Her husband smiled before standing and kissing her, clearly relieved. “I would never want you to do something you do not wish, especially something this big,” he said. “But… but I love you. And I love our child. And that is enough for me.”

She was still wary. She was still scared, but she could accept it.

There was one thing she could not accept though. And she knew that he would understand it.

“We need more information,” Jane said after a few minutes of silence, looking back down at him. “We need to know anything about Asgardian-human hybrids we can. Health risks for me and the baby, life span, just… we need to know more, Thor.”

He nodded in agreement, blue eyes flickering to the sky. “I think I may need to visit Asgard,” he mentioned. “See what the Allfather knows.”

If it got them any answers, Jane thought with her hand on her stomach, she would take being called a goat a thousand times over. If it meant that she would have answers regarding her child’s life, that was all that mattered.

* * *

 

 The Allfather knew nothing.

Other than the slight judgement and hesitant congratulations regarding his firstborn grandchild, Odin knew very little of what an Asgardian-human hybrid might have in their life. He’d promised to send scholars to research the matter, but the truth of it was that Thor was leaving Asgard with as much information as he came with – absolutely nothing.

His frustration was clear enough as he made his way to the Bifrost, knowing that his mood was too foul to speak with anyone just yet. He wanted answers before they told too many people on Asgard, and he truly did not know how some of the more conservative citizens would react to it.

He was back where he started, and he knew that he had to find something. There had to be information somewhere regarding a hybrid. His child could not be the first.

“Heimdall, please,” Thor said simply, sighing as he nodded at the guardian. “I must return.” He paused before saying, “Unless you know where I can find a human-Asgardian hybrid.”

“I cannot find a person I do not know,” Heimdall pointed out simply, golden eyes watching the galaxy around him. “Though I wish I could.”

Thor sighed. It had been worth a try. “Thank you anyway-“

“Let me finish, Thor.”

The Prince of Asgard frowned, turning to look at him. Heimdall had turned to look at Thor, looking almost amused, as if he knew something Thor did not. Granted, he usually did, but this appeared to be different. Thor frowned, holding onto Mjolnir and waiting, staring intently at him.

“I cannot find your hybrid,” Heimdall explained. “But there is someone on Midgard who has always been skilled at finding the truth, at finding the answer to a question. One of the cleverest minds of Asgard.”

He frowned, studying Heimdall’s blank face carefully as he struggled to understand what he spoke of. The realization clicked like his hammer against a solid surface. Thor froze when he realized, staring blankly at Asgardian’s guardian for a few brief moments.

It was impossible. There was no way that  _she_  of all people were on Midgard. She’d been missing for years, since Loki’s fall, and yet, her being there made so much sense.

“She’s been on Earth all this time?” he breathed. It made so much sense. And she had always been logic where Loki had been chaos. “Since he fell from the Bifrost?”

“Yes. Your own mother helped her down there while the Bridge was down. She’s there now.” Heimdall’s golden eyes turned towards the entrance of the Bifrost. “And she… I know where she is.”

“Where?” Thor asked.

Heimdall smiled. “Exactly where she would be, on a new world.”

* * *

 

In hindsight, he really should not have been surprised with where she was. In fact, Thor almost felt stupid for asking Heimdall where she would be in the end of it, let loose on a new world with new knowledge and history for her to find.

Thor paused near a deck in the United States’ Library of Congress, watching his query for a few minutes. He hadn’t seen her in years, and yet here she was again.

She was here. She had not, as far as Thor known, returned to Asgard since Loki’s fall from the Bifrost. She’d been on Earth, and there was every chance Loki had known that during his assault on New York.

Fury knew of her. He had to. There was no way he would have not been aware of her after what happened in New York, especially when she was located in the capital of what was SHIELD’s founding country. He fully intended to speak to Fury before he returned to London.

At the desk was a woman who looked to be in her mid to late twenties, her copper hair straight and just below her shoulders. She stroked a worn green stone with a familiar rune between her fingers, occasionally flipping a page. There was travel mug of coffee that Thor recognized as Darcy’s favorite chain next to her, along with a notebook filled to the brim of notations and observations.

No, he was a fool not to realize exactly where she would be. But that did not mean he could not tease her for it.

“Why am I not surprised you are in a library?” Thor wondered as he sat down across from her, picking up one of the books to see what it was. The title was faded, the book clearly well read, but it was clear enough that he could see the title was  _From Internment to Immortality: The Story of Jim Morita_ , author Amanda Forbes’ name directly below it.

“Why am I not surprised you’re interrupting me in a library?” she countered, eyes on the book below her. She reached over and took the book from him without looking.

“Because you know me well, my friend.” Thor winced when he heard the hisses towards him, glancing around him before uncomfortably shuffling. He had to be quiet in libraries. No one told him to do so on Asgard.

He’d been that sheltered, and arrogant, and unprepared for the world. Thor quietly promised himself he would not do that to his child.

“Might I join you?” he asked when she still did not look up.

She shrugged. “It’s a free country. Apparently. That’s what people keep telling me. I want to have a talk with their Founding Fathers about their definition of free.”

“I would enjoy watching that.” Thor sat down across from her, pulling another book from the pile, this one on Howard Stark, Tony’s own father. “You yelling at people has always been amusing.”

The copper-haired woman finally looked over at him, raising a thin eyebrow. “You know, part of me being on Earth is so I wouldn’t have to talk to you or anyone else. Actually, no, that was literally the entire point of me coming to Earth.”

“I know And I hate to bother you now-“ Thor narrowed his eyes as more hisses came, giving a long-suffering sigh before saying, “Clearly my voice is doomed in this library. Please walk with me? Outside?”

She stared at him for a few moments, shaking her head as she leaned back. “Thor-“

“Sigyn.” Thor’s voice was quiet now, a genuinely desperate plea in his voice. “I need your help. It’s a matter of life or death for someone I care about deeply.”

Sigyn Tyrsdottir’s face softened as she watched him, looking around and sighing before standing up, picking up the books. “Let me put the books back. Then we’ll talk.”

* * *

 

She laughed.

He’d opened to her about everything that happened over the past nearly three years – Loki’s fall, the Battle of New York, the Dark Elves, and his marriage and new child with Jane, and she’d  _laughed_. Considering how many times he’d laughed at her over the years, he vaguely realized that it was karma.

But it was still a reaction that honestly surprised him.

“This isn’t funny,” Thor protested, glaring at her on the grass of the National Mall, walking along with her and holding his umbrella, letting it clip the ground as they walked.

Sigyn shook her head, still laughing. “You got her pregnant.” She readjusted the bag over her shoulder. “You got your  _wife_  pregnant.”

“I don’t understand how this is funny.”

“You knocked up your  _wife_. You have been sleeping around the Nine Realms for centuries, and you only knock a woman up when you marry her.” Sigyn wiped away a few tears of amusement. “I’m sorry, it’s beyond amusing.”

“It might kill her, Sigyn.”

That snapped her back to attention. “What?” she demanded, looking sharply over at him. “Thor, what… I thought you were being dramatic.”

Thor had not said it out loud yet. He had not said out loud that this pregnancy might kill Jane. He had not said out loud what he had been fearing on every level since he found out the truth of it.

He sank to the bench, feeling exhausted. “The pregnancy might kill her. We know nothing about a human-Asgardian child, what it does when the mother is human. Jane’s health is already being compromised by it. Blood pressure, migraines, nausea and fainting…” Thor took a deep breath before saying, “Our child might kill her. My child might kill my wife.”

Sigyn sank down next to him on the bench. “Thor, that isn’t your fault.”

“Isn’t it?” Thor wondered, looking back to her. “I should have been more careful. I should have looked into whether it was possible at all for her to become pregnant.”

She shook her head before looking back at him. “People in love do not always think things through,” she pointed out simply, giving a quiet and tired smile. “Take it from me.”

He reached out, squeezing her shoulder gently. “What happened to him was not your fault,” he said quietly. “You have to know that.”

Sigyn didn’t answer, merely looking away before saying quietly, “I know.” He knew that she was lying, but chose not to correct her. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t feel guilt.”

They were quiet for a while, watching the people around them. Sometimes there was very little that could be said. Especially when the loss of Loki still hung over them both like a shadow - a shadow Thor knew neither would ever be completely rid of, out of love for a man close to both their hearts, for different reasons.

He only looked back at her. “There is no one better than you to find an answer to a question. We know nothing about what a hybrid might live through. What their life, abilities might be like.” He swallowed before saying, “I need help on this, Sigyn, please. Come back to London with me.”

She shook her head, looking back over at Thor. “I don’t know if that’s the best idea,” she said, her voice quiet. “I left Asgard to get away from all of this, Thor. I’m sorry. I don’t know if I’m the best help.”

He wanted to beg her. He wanted to drag her back. But he knew that she was dealing with so much, and he knew that being there dug up many old wounds. He knew that he had no right to ask her to abandon everything, no matter how desperate he was.

“I understand,” Thor said, voice quiet as he looked back at her. “But Sigyn… know that whatever my father might have thought, I never believed you knew what Loki planned.”

Sigyn flinched. It was an honest flinch, her eyes wide as she stared over at Thor. That wound was still raw. He knew that it might never completely heal. But he had to be sure she knew that he did not blame her for what happened, no matter what the rumors on Asgard whispered. Sigyn was innocent of what had happened there.

“I understand if you do not wish to come. I am sure you have a life here, and I cannot ask you to abandon it.” Thor moved to his feet, looking back down at her. “But if you change your mind… please let me know. I’ll be in the city until tomorrow.”

He started to walk away, not looking back at first. She had been his best shot, and now, it was back to figuring out where to go from here. And he did not know who else might be good enough to help him find a hybrid.

He didn’t know where to go next.

“Thor?”

He paused, turning to look back over at her. Sigyn looked exhausted, swallowing as she asked, “How do you know that I was not aware of what Loki planned?”

Thor gave a sad smile. “Because if you had known,” he said, “you would have stopped him.”

The look on her face as he walked away nearly broke his heart in two, for the grief of the man he’d loved as his brother and the man she’d loved but could not save.

* * *

 

“Thank you again for this favor.”

Steve Rogers shrugged lightly at the statement, looking back over at Thor as they got off the metro a few blocks away from his apartment. “Not a problem. I don’t get a lot of guests though. Might not be the neatest apartment.”

While he could have made his way back to London that night, he was emotionally exhausted from his talk with Sigyn. Seeing her after Loki’s death was hard enough, and he wanted to give her a chance to process and decide as well. Steve happened to live in DC now, and it made sense to visit a brother-in-arms while there, even if Steve might have just been too polite to say no.

He hoped that she would help. He trusted very few people with this.

“I will be out tomorrow,” Thor assured Steve as they headed up the stairs. “I do not wish to inconvenience you more, and Fury has no knowledge that can help me.”

A blond girl was entering the apartment across the hall, pausing and waving when she saw Steve, shooting him a warm smile before ducking in. Thor caught the top of Steve’s ears turning red, and chuckled as he followed him to the apartment door.

Steve rubbed the back of his head, sighing, shoulders deflating before he unlocked his door and lead the way inside. The apartment was small, perhaps a bit more so than the flat he shared with Jane and Darcy, but Steve lived here alone, he knew that much. It seemed nice enough, if not somewhat bare.

Thor raised an eyebrow when Steve’s own door closed, a smile on his face. “Your neighbor is very pretty,” he mentioned, raising an eyebrow at his friend.

“Not you too, Nat’s already on my case about it.” Steve shook his head as he moved to the kitchen, pulling out two beers and handing one to Thor. “Do you think she’ll help? Sigyn, I mean.”

The change of subject was clumsy, but Thor accepted it. “I hope so.”

Because he did not know what he would do if she didn’t. She was one of the smartest people he knew, and she had been on Midgard long enough to know where to look for a hybrid. And there were very few people that he would trust with the health of his wife and son.

It was then that a knock sounded at the door, drawing the attention of both Avengers.

Thor frowned. “Were you expecting someone?” he asked, gaze flickering to Steve as he held onto the umbrella, feeling its magic as it transformed into Mjolnir a few moments later. He set the beer bottle on the coffee table.

“No,” Steve replied, voice quiet as he picked up the shield from the floor, holding it in one hand before moving and looking at the door, frowning deeply as he opened it.

On one hand, Thor was surprised by who was on the other side. But on the other, he should have expected it. The smile that crossed his face almost hurt.

Sigyn rolled her eyes. “Stop gloating,” she warned, shooting Thor a look. “I’ll come. I’ll stay and help. But I have to come back to DC every few weeks. But we’ll find a hybrid. If other Asgardians are anything like you, then there’s got to be a half-Aesir running around somewhere.

“How did you find me?” Thor wondered, shooting Steve a grateful look when he let the Asgardian scholar inside.

Sigyn raised an eyebrow before holding up her phone. “I followed the Instagram posts and Tweets. You’re a celebrity and Avenger. Plus, it’s fairly common knowledge that Captain America lives on this block.”

Steve frowned slightly, looking back over. “I never get bothered here.”

“Because you generally look incredibly sad.” Steve’s blue eyes narrowed, and Sigyn rolled her eyes before looking back over at Thor. “I’ll help with your wife. But you have to understand, I’ve never heard of a human-Asgardian hybrid.”

Thor’s shoulders slumped. “So there’s no chance?”

Sigyn only gave a little smile. “Thor, my friend, I said that I had never heard of it. That just means it’s a challenge to find it.”

* * *

 

It was somewhat daunting to meet the woman who was her sister-in-law, according to mythology. Bringing it up to Sigyn, however, brought on what Darcy called one of the most entertaining rants in the world.

“A few humans see you kissing once and suddenly you’re the doormat to the Prince of Asgard,” Sigyn complained. “Do you know how long I had to listen to Fandral tease me for it?”

“At least two centuries, as I recall. And it took at least a decade for you to stop blushing at it,” Thor laughed, looking genuinely pleased to have Sigyn there.

Sigyn rolled her eyes where she sat on the couch. Darcy sat down next to her, handing her a mug of coffee, Sigyn thanking her as she sat down. “And even then I had to throw a book at his head,” she muttered, sipping her drink to hide a smile.

Jane was relieved that Thor had found Sigyn. He had called her one of the cleverest minds on Asgard, and if Thor trusted her, so did Jane. And it was nice to see him interact with someone like this, clearly friendly and close. Even Selvig seemed to be okay with Sigyn, if only for Thor’s quiet explanation that she had been in the dark towards Loki’s intentions or the simple fact that she would have stopped him had she known.

“That sounds like advice I might want to hold onto,” Jane mentioned. She shot Thor an annoyed work. “Thor, stop hovering, please.”

Thor scowled, but moved to the chair and sat down. Nanna jumped onto his lap within seconds, purring as the Avenger began to stroke his back. Nanna liked Jane, but she adored Thor to a point that it was immensely clear that Thor was her person. That might have also been because Thor was more likely to feed her scraps, but that wasn’t the only reason.

Sigyn paused, her face thoughtful. “So,” she said simply. “Finding a hybrid. We must look at where we know Asgardians have been before and just… go from there.” She looked back over. “Where did Odin’s army land, during the battle against the Frost Giants?”

“Tønsberg,” Thor mentioned, frowning as he realized it might make sense. An army was more than likely to leave a few bastards behind.

“Norway?” Selvig asked. Considering his previous exposure to Loki and the fact that he was one of their best bets when it came to finding a hybrid. “That’s where HYDRA found the Tesseract originally.”

“After they massacred the city,” Sigyn said, realization crossing her face. She glanced over at Darcy as the brunette pulled her StarkPad over, pulling it over. “I was at a conference recently talking about it…”

“Johann Schmidt executed nearly everyone at Tønsberg,” Selvig explained, sighing. “It was one of the greatest losses of Norway during World War II.”

“The Red Skull,” Thor murmured, eyes narrowing. He’d heard of him before from Steve. “The Red Skull is also long dead. But we know for a fact that Asgardian blood was on that soil. If there might be any hybrids… that would be the first place to look.”

“Not everyone who was at Tønsberg are dead though,” Darcy mentioned.

Everyone’s heads whipped towards her, surprised. Darcy raised an eyebrow when she saw the looks on everyone’s faces, rolling her eyes before handing her phone over to Jane.

“I googled it. One person survived the massacre at Tønsberg,” Darcy explained. “She was two years old and found hiding in rubble two days after the attack. She was able to say that her mother hid her there.”

Thor looked over Jane’s shoulder to study it. The Wikipedia article below had a picture of a toddler girl on the hip of a soldier, her little hands clinging to the soldier’s uniform, her bright eyes clear even with the black-and-white color of the photograph.

“Her name was Ingrid Larsen. She was taken to an orphanage and moved to Oslo after she got married,” Jane read from the article, sighing before saying, “The next move is trying to find her. Which might be difficult.”

“Are we sure that she’s connected to whatever might be there?” Selvig asked, frowning as he looked back to Darcy. “Or if she’s even alive?”

“She’s alive,” Sigyn confirmed, looking back over. “At least as of a few months ago. She gave an interview at a conference at Empire State University about massacres of World War II, I attended it.” She gestured before saying, “She’s a fairly influential academic. Focuses on sociology.”

“So she’s the connection,” Jane pressed, looking back over. “And she might be part Asgardian?”

“Whether she is or not, she is the only survivor,” Thor mentioned, sighing as he shook his head. “And if there is a chance she has the answers we seek, we need to find her.”

He looked at Jane, swallowed as he reached for her hand. She took it, squeezing tightly as both comfort and strength. They had a chance. That was more than they could ask for, and Thor knew that it was a start.

It was hope.

Sigyn paused, looking down at her phone before smiling. “And I think I know where she is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Sigyn Tyrsdottir** \- Kristen Connolly  
>   
>  If you're looking her up, lean more towards her looks in Zoo more than anything. Sigyn has gone through ten million face claims, but Kristen is the best of the sassy scholar that can put up with Loki's bullshit.  
> 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor and Jane go on a quest for answers. A family connection emerges.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I keep saying I'm the worst, but I am. My work has been a bit crazy and inspiration has taken hits, but I'm excited for the next few chapters and the lead up to the baby. So, enjoy, and please let me know what you're thinking.

“Doctor Andersen?”

The University of Amsterdam was large, but open, and the people on campus were friendly enough to help him to the sociology department. Judging from the looks some students shot him, Thor was recognized. But that didn’t matter to him. What did matter was finding Doctor Andersen and finding what she knew.

The doctor herself was a distinguished, silver-haired woman with bright eyes, dressed in a bronze sleeveless dress. A flowing black cardigan rested over the back of her chair, and she paused in her book reading to look up at her visitors.

“Yes, can I help you?” She paused a moment, clearly recognizing Thor before looking over to the man. Her eyes were bright and curious, and Thor found himself reminded of Selvig and Sigyn and Jane, of the bright curiosity of a scholar.

Perhaps, in hindsight, Thor did have a type of people he chose to keep close in his life.

The three academics were there in person. Selvig, who had apparently met Doctor Andersen years ago, took a step forward. He offered his hand. “Doctor Erik Selvig. We met very briefly a few years back, if you recall…”

Ingrid’s eyes brightened more, and she took his hand. “In Nova Scotia, at the conference the PhD conference. Though I confess my memory of it is not strong.” She gave a bright and amused laugh. “Considering the amount of alcohol there was that night, I doubt any of us remember it. Though I do remember the bawdy drinking songs you taught us all.”

Judging from the slight look of horror on Erik’s face, he was not expecting her to remember. Or rather, hoping she wouldn’t. Thor merely laughed. “You always have made your ancestors proud,” Thor murmured, shooting a quiet but teasing smile at Selvig.

Jane gave a fond roll of her eyes before moving forward. “Doctor Jane Foster, I’m with Culver University, astrophysics,” she said, her voice steady as she looked around, clearly impressed by the office.

“I’ve heard of you as well. You’re on the top of a very short list about who might win a Nobel Prize yet.” Ingrid’s face softened as she said, “And I met your father a few times. He was a good man. And he spoke of you with the highest pride.”

Jane only smiled quietly, looking away. Thor reached out, taking her hand and squeezing it gently before he watched Sigyn move forward to introduce herself. “Sigyn Tyrsdottir. We met briefly at the conference on Tønsberg several months ago, in New York…”

“Of course, the… foreign academic Val de Fontaine told me about. It’s a pleasure to meet you again,” Ingrid mentioned, smiling warmly at her before turning to Thor. “And forgive me, but I do know who you are.”

Thor smiled and grasped her hand firmly. “But it is still a pleasure to meet you in person, Doctor Andersen. Might we speak?”

Ingrid waved her hand. “Of course. If an Avenger comes to speak to a sociology professor, then I assume it is of some importance.”

And that was what Darcy would call a complete understatement.

There were two chairs and a couch in front of her desk. Thor noticed briefly a quilt over the back of the couch, worn but well-loved. Sigyn and Selvig sat on the couch, and Thor and Jane took the chairs, though Thor kept Jane’s hand in his own. For her comfort. For his own. To remind him that this was his wife’s line potentially on their line, knowledge of their child’s life. This was important. This was the most important thing right now.

“I hesitate at bringing up bad memories,” Thor admitted, watching her. “But I understand you were the only survivor of the massacre at Tønsberg.”

Ingrid didn’t look surprised. Instead, she almost looked tired. “I was two years old with its destruction. I remember very little of it. Less than I do of my time in Nova Scotia.” She smirked at Selvig, who only sighed. Ingrid’s face quickly turned solemn again. “My mother realized they intended to murder everyone there… and so she hid me. I was found two days later. My father’s body was found in the church, along with my great-grandfather… but my mother’s body was never found.”

Thor sat up slightly when he heard that, frowning slightly. Darcy had once jokingly mentioned to never believe someone dead until you saw the body. Growing up with Loki as a brother had taught him that just the same.

“Her body was lost?” Thor asked, trying to hide the slight eagerness.

“Lost in the rubble perhaps, or drowned in the sea. Either way, it was never found.” The professor studied him carefully, looking between them all. “Can I ask what this is about?” Ingrid asked, raising a brow as she looked between the four.

There wasn’t a particularly tactful way to say that they were hoping that someone she had known as a toddler would be partially of Asgardian blood. If Thor’s suspicion was right, then Ingrid’s missing mother might very well be the one they were searching for. It was a chance. It was a chance that he had to follow.

But he was digging into this woman’s past, and for a moment, Thor could only hesitate as he tried to think of the best way to phrase it, politely, to honor this woman’s past but still find the answers they needed.

His wife took care of that. Jane squeezed Thor’s hand. “I’m pregnant,” she said simply. Honesty was the best policy here. “I’m pregnant, and… and we’re trying to figure out what type of life our child is going to lead, as an Asgardian-human hybrid.”

She sounded so strong, so sure. Jane was calm here, focused on finding and seeking the knowledge they would need in order to make sure that their child could grow up healthy and strong. She was trying to make sure that they did not need to be worry. While Thor felt almost paralyzed being faced by an enemy he couldn’t physically fight, Jane was on the attack, doing what she did best – finding and seeking knowledge, asking the questions they needed.

He loved her. He truly did love her.

Ingrid only sighed before saying, “I remember some stories. That the armies of Asgard landed on Tønsberg. I can understand your thought process here.” She sighed before saying, “And I’m not blind. I’ve noticed very well I do not appear my age.”

“Then you think it is a possibility?” Sigyn asked, studying her carefully.

“That I have Asgardian blood in me?” Ingrid asked, a scholar’s blunt honesty behind her words. “In theory, it would be no different than if my father was Swedish. Both of my parents were born in my village… but my mother’s father was never known.” 

She paused before pulling out a black and white photo of a couple, handing it over to Thor and Jane. Jane looked down, her face tracing the face of a pretty woman holding a baby, a laugh on her face.

“Her name was Astrid Soren,” she mentioned. “Astrid Larsen after she married my father. I was their only child. And like I said… they never found her body. They found my father dead under rubble in the church. My great-grandfather with a bullet in his chest. My mother’s cousins and family around the town. But never my mother herself.”

It was a lead. It was more than he could have hoped for, though he had no idea where to start.

Ingrid, however, seemed to have that answer. “Might I suggest starting with Elliott Randolph however? He might know more than I.” The look in her eye suggested that she had pieced something together on her own.

“Why do I know that name?” Selvig wondered, frowning slightly as he looked down.

“He’s a professor of Norse mythology. The last I heard of him, he retired and moved to outside of Oslo. He’s a family friend.” She gave a small smile. “And was always very interested in hearing of what I remembered of my mother. And did not seem to age in the twenty years I’ve known him.”

It took him a moment to understand what she was saying. He nodded slowly, leaning closer before asking, “Would he be willing to speak with me?”

“If you find him, I believe so.” Ingrid gave a mysterious smile. “It was always so strange, you know. My youngest son grew to look like him. I always imagined it a coincidence, but perhaps…”

Perhaps this lead was worth finding. And he would find him if he had to search all of Oslo. If this theory was true, if Ingrid’s mother was half Asgardian, then this Elliott Randolph might very well be her father, an Asgardian himself. It was worth a shot. It was worth a try.

“May we take this photo? Or have a copy of it?” Thor asked.

“I’ll get a copy for you.” She looked between them and gave a quiet smile. “I hope this helps. I truly do.”

He held onto Jane’s hand and for a moment, let himself hope. Jane squeezed back a moment later.

* * *

 

 

They found Elliott Randolph in the exact place Ingrid told them to look – a pretty, isolated house in the forests surrounding Oslo, not too far from Østmarka National Park.

It was a larger house, with a porch in the back looking out to the forest. Jane could almost see putting a gigantic telescope up on that porch and looking at the stars.

For a brief moment, she could picture herself on that porch, with that giant telescope pointed at the stars. Nanna would be on the bannister of the porch, looking out into the woods and occasionally jumping down. And down on the grass, with laughter surrounding them, would be Thor chasing a messy-haired, screaming from joy toddler. It was so clear that Jane paused, clearly taken aback.

It was a nice idea. It could very well be what happened someday. It wasn’t a surprise that her brain would turn to mush with pregnancy hormones. Jill Foster claimed that mom brain was a thing that could take even the most brilliant scientist.

Maybe someday, though, that would be their life.

Elliott Randolph himself was sitting on that back porch, sipping at a large mug and reading a book. He looked up when the car approached but did not look surprised to see visitors there. Jane sighed as she parked the car in the stone driveway.

“Remember, this isn’t an interrogation,” Jane warned, looking back to Thor in the passenger’s seat and Darcy in the back. Selvig had decided to briefly remain in Amsterdam to speak with Ingrid, and Sigyn was back in the states for a visit she gave no further details. Thor trusted her, and Jane did not push.

There was a sort of symmetry to the three of them being on this run anyway. It had been her and Darcy together for the longest while, and Thor had taken to them both. And now, Darcy was still using what she called her Google skills to help.

Darcy frowned. “Okay, so no threats of violence. Boring.” She shoved her taser back into her purse.

Jane sighed, looking back at her. “You’re ridiculous.”

“That’s why you love me.” Darcy gave a cheerful smile before opening the door, sliding out.

Thor, who had been quiet since they found this lead, took her hand. He had very rarely let go of her hand the last few days, as if he was reminding herself that she was okay and safe.

“Hey,” she said, her voice low. “I’m feeling fine. You saw, there was no morning sickness when I woke up. I’ve got an appetite. I’m doing okay, Thor.”

Her husband sighed and nodded briefly, bending to kiss her temple. “I will still feel better when we know all that we can,” he said simply. “And I will never stop worrying about you and our child.”

Their lead in question, who appeared to be an unassuming middle-aged man, had put the book down by the time they reached the porch. Jane was surprised to see that it was her own book, published after her research on the Einstein-Rosen Bridge and the Foster Theory had gone public.

“Professor Randolph?” Jane asked, though they all knew the answer.

“You were expecting someone else at my home in the middle of the Norwegian woods?” Randolph deadpanned.

Darcy smirked, and Jane sighed once more. She tended to do a lot of that with Darcy.

Randolph watched them for a few moments, gesturing for them to sit down. “Meeting you was not on the list of things I ever expected,” he said simply, sighing as he sat down across from him at the table. “I had a sister who worked as a maid for your mother, but I assumed that was the closest I would ever get to a member of the royal family of Asgard.”

“I’m not here today as a member of the royal family,” Thor explained, sighing as he looked at him. “I am here as someone concerned for the life of someone I love.” His blue eyes flickered to Jane before they returned to Randolph. “And I believe you might have answers.”

"I do believe you might be right, depending on the questions you ask," Randolph replied easily.

“Exactly,” Jane responded simply. “But I think this only works if we’re honest with each other.”

“That does tend to help with important discussions, yes.” The former professor waved his hand. “Go ahead and ask. Don’t beat around the bush. You know I know what you know about me.”

Darcy’s face clearly stated that she was double checking whether he’d said it correctly. “So you know that we know you’re Asgardian.”

“That I am. Came here back when the armies of Laufey invaded, became a Berserker."

Thor looked almost excited. "You were a Berserker?" he asked, staring back over before asking, "Do you still have the staff?"

"No. SHIELD took it after the Pagan group ran around with it. Long story. But I don't have it." He waved his hand before saying, "But anyway, after that war, I decided to stay when I liked it. Been around a few centuries, been pretty great. Except the sixties.” He shuddered slightly. “Those were dark times.”

Jane didn’t hesitate, once he confirmed that he was Asgardian. “Did you ever have a child with a human mother?”

That drew a pause. Randolph gave an unreadable smile when he regained his composure. His posture remained tense, as if ready for a fight. “That’s quite a question to ask.”

“You’re the one who said we might as well be blunt,” Darcy pointed out.

“True.” Randolph hummed slightly before saying, “I assume it’s because you yourself are pregnant with a child of two worlds?”

Jane nodded. “And we both like to know what we’re dealing with,” she explained, her voice genuine. “We want to know the quality of life for our child. If we could find a hybrid, speak with them… it would help. We just want to know how to take care of our kid.”

Randolph nodded slowly. “And that’s all you want with her?”

“Her?” Thor smiled. “We never said that it was a daughter.”

Randolph paused, but smiled slightly as he chuckled. “And I suppose you’ve caught me. Though I’m very sure you guessed already that my daughter would be Ingrid’s mother.” He watched Thor carefully. “You intend her no harm?”

“No,” Thor said firmly. “Ingrid would not have given us your name if she thought so, I assume. Does she know who you are?”

“That I’m her grandfather? I thought she suspected it when she did not begin to age. Especially after Soren started to look like my spitting image. I'm sure if she gave you my name, she knows it now.” Randolph sighed before admitting, “I doubt I’m going to be much help. I… I didn’t watch her grow up. Her or her mother.”

Thor nodded for him to continue, forcing himself to be patient. He held onto Jane’s hand the entire time, not wanting to let it go. From the look on Randolph’s face, this was a hard enough discussion. And he did not want to encourage him to shut down now.

Thor would not make the mistakes of his father. He would be there for his child, and nothing would stop that.

“I went back to Tønsberg out of curiosity, back in 1919. The war was just starting up and I wanted somewhere to lay low. There was a girl there, the daughter of the church keeper. Her name was Helga. And she was… magnificent. Sharp and bright and brilliant.” Randolph sighed. “I didn’t know I got her pregnant. In hindsight, I probably left a few kids around the world.” He sighed. “And a few decades later, I met a daughter who looked twenty five but was twice that old.”

And Thor’s suspicions were confirmed; Astrid Larsen had survived the massacre at Tønsberg.

“How did you find her then?” Jane asked, frowning. “Your daughter, I mean.”

“I didn’t. She found me, through putting pieces together.” He sighed before saying, “She found me in the early nineties. I found out about Ingrid through her. Astrid didn’t have contact with her, but… but I wanted to. So I became a friend of the family, met her in about 1993. And Ingrid kept me around because I’m sure she figured it out eventually. Especially after Soren looked like me.”

“It all makes sense though,” Darcy pointed out, readjusting her glasses. “They didn’t find her body in Tønsberg because there was no body. But where was she?”

“That’s a question she’s never answered. She’s never told me where she was before she found me, but I keep tabs on Sora now.” Randolph waved his hand before saying, “That’s the name she’s going by. Sora Larsen. After her maiden name and her married name.”

“And do you know where Sora is now?” Jane asked.

“Paris, though I couldn’t tell you more than that,” Randolph admitted. “She has a job there, and… from what I understand, participates in the very active underground enhanced fight clubs. I found a live stream link I see her on sometimes.” He gave a droll smile. "She took the name Berserker. Some way of honoring me, I guess."

“Underground enhanced fight clubs?” Darcy asked, clearly not buying it.

“You’re sitting with two men from another planet and you think an underground fight club that only employs enhanced individuals is odd?” Randolph asked, clearly bemused.

Darcy paused. “Point.”

Jane sighed as she moved to her feet. “Looks like we’re going to Paris then.”

Everything started to go dark in that instant, and Jane stumbled. The last thing she knew was Thor’s hand moving to her back as everything faded to black.

The last thought she had was that the fainting was getting really old.

* * *

 

“The first rule of fight club,” Darcy said solemnly. “Is that you don’t talk about fight club.”

Thor frowned as he led the way down the dark stairwell, his eyes flickering to the tattooed man in front of him, barely visible in the dim light from the flickering bulbs above their heads. His grip on Mjölnir tightened, the tip of the transformed umbrella clipping at the concrete steps.

This underground fight club in Paris wasn’t too hard to find, if the only few hours of research on Darcy’s part had managed to find it. There were communities of gifted individuals. The right one, the one where Sora Larsen would be, was more difficult to find. It’d taken Sigyn shaking a few trees from Nick Fury to give them a lead, a potential string of fate.

He just hoped that this was the right string to tug on.

“But by saying you shall not speak of it, you speak of it,” Thor pointed out, glancing back at Darcy, sandwiched behind him at the front and Sigyn at the rear. Jane had been ordered to stop the traveling, and she was back in London, clearly not happy about not being on this quest for knowledge with them. Selvig was staying with her to try and keep her company and focus on research.

Darcy gave a long-suffering sigh. “Put it on the list of things to show him,” she told Sigyn behind her.

Sigyn frowned, tugging her leather jacket closer to her. “I have no idea what you’re referencing either.”

She groaned. “You’re kidding me. You’ve just spent like a year in the Library of Congress and you don’t know what  _Fight Club_  is?”

“The optimal word there is library. I’ve been reading, Darcy.”

“Did you at least read  _Harry Potter_?”

“Of course I did, I’m not completely culturally blind.”

 “It’s only good if you don’t know what’s coming,” the bouncer ahead of Thor said, sounding surprisingly helpful. “So make sure they don’t know when they watch  _Fight Club_.”

“Thank you, random bouncer guy.” Darcy smirked before saying, “See, you should totally listen to me for all cultural catching up. Put me in charge of Cap’s stuff, I’m sure he has a super long list.”

Thor looked back at her before turning forward when he heard a set of heavy doors opening. It almost looked like a normal bar or club, something that Darcy might have dragged them to once or twice. There were tables around, and Darcy bee-lined to an empty one with a view of the entire club, the Asgardians following closely behind. But instead of a dance floor in the center of the room, it was a cage, with bars on all four sides and the ceiling.

And inside the cage was a woman, fighting a man that almost looked like he could dwarf even Steve Rogers.

Her hair was thick and blond, tied carefully back, strands loose and wild against the skin bared by the racerback tank she had on. Her stance was angry, and the way she moved was a strange hybrid that reminded Thor of both Sif’s ferocity in battle and Natasha’s cat like, fluid grace.

“Hot damn,” Darcy said, her eyes wide as she looked back over at her. “Um, I think we’re in the right place…”

They moved to a railing that overlooked the club, right by the table Darcy found, and Sigyn leaned against a pillar, watching carefully. “She’s strong,” she said, her voice quiet as she studied her the way he’d seen Loki observe a potential enemy or ally. "But very self-trained."

“She reminds me of Sif,” Thor admitted, looking back over. “The ferocity of it, how every action has a reason… but it is less graceful. This... hers is more violent.”

The blonde woman then started beating her opponent with a metal rod. Then he was very sharply reminded of his brother’s pragmatism in combat.

“And now I’m reminded of Loki,” Sigyn said, her voice forcibly light as she shook her head. Thor chuckled, shaking his head at the thought of it.

That was when the blond woman turned her head, and the three caught a look at her. Darcy gasped, Sigyn moved forward, and Thor stared, realizing exactly who it was in that cage.

“That can’t be her,” Darcy said, her voice flat. “She looks…”

“She hasn’t aged a day since 1943,” Sigyn finished. “I know that Randolph told us that, but… but she looks identical.”

The woman in the cage was completely identical to the demure woman in Ingrid’s picture, apart from the longer, blonder hair, multiple scars that Thor could see on her arms, and the now far more dangerous look on her face. Darcy pulled out her phone, taking a look at the now pulled up picture, holding it so Sigyn and Thor could both hear it.

“I didn’t believe it,” Thor admitted, looking back over. “I thought he would be exaggerating.”

This was part of the life his child would have. Longevity. Strength. Burdens that Thor wished on no one, much less his own child. This question for answers was suddenly breaking his heart.

“The Berserker is the winner!”

The announcer's proclamation brought cheers to the club around them. She was clearly popular. The girl spat, a bit of blood mixed with it as she watched the man on the floor. She shook her head, heading out of the cage a moment later when the door opened, sliding easily over the banister and passing right in front of them.

“We found her. Now what do we do?” Darcy asked. “Because I’m not gonna lie, she kinda scares me. She's hot. But terrifying.”

“I approach her. Alone.” Thor looked back over before saying, “This… this is my fight. My wife and child’s health and future. And I want to speak with her alone first.”

Sigyn nodded quietly looking back at where Sora Larsen was leaving the club through a back entrance. “You know what you’re doing?” she asked.

Thor sighed. “I hope so.”

* * *

 

 

Darcy’s photo and Facebook account managed to find her. By night, the Berserker was the darling of the underground Parisian fight clubs. But by day, Sora Larsen worked as a bodyguard with a United States-based company. Their Paris office was small, and mostly dealt with private security and bodyguarding. Sora seemed to be the head of the Paris branch.

“Sora Larsen?”

Thor approached her on her way to work the next morning. She walked the mile every day, going down the same paths, getting the same coffee. She clearly liked routine.

Sora didn’t look up from her phone. “If you want a meeting, you’ll need to contact the office,” she said simply, the heels of her boots clicking against the ground.

“I merely wish to talk,” Thor explained.

“Then contact the office for a meeting,” she replied without pause, not looking back at him.

Thor chose then to play his trump card. “It’s important, Astrid.”

She froze on the sidewalk, staring directly ahead. He saw her almost drop her phone. She turned slowly, eyes narrowing dangerously as she studied him, recognized him as a predator would its prey. He saw the look on her face when she realized who he was and saw the grit of her teeth.

“How do you know that name?” she asked, sounding almost terrifyingly calm.

“Your father and daughter.” Thor crossed his arms against his chest, seeing the stiffness in her spine, the suspicion in her blue eyes at the mention of her relatives. “I’m not here as an enemy. I need your help.”

Sora gave a disbelieving laugh. “With what? What can an Avenger need my help with?”

“You know who I am?” Thor asked, knowing the answer was obvious, but he was still surprised sometimes when people on Earth recognized him.

“Anyone with an internet connection knows who you are.” Sora raised an eyebrow before adding, her voice ice, “And yet I still do not know why you’re here yet.”

“You’re half Asgardian.” She averted her eyes and he said, “I know that’s true. I know that Ingrid suspects it, that you did not die at Tonsberg. Randolph confirmed it. I just- I want to speak with you. My wife is pregnant, and I only wish to know what life my child can expect.”

“A long one,” Sora replied, her voice short.

Thor swallowed. “You’re how old?”

“As of this year? I turn ninety-four in June.” She gave a bitter smile. “And I still look as though I’m barely twenty-five.”

Thor shook his head before looking back over at her. “I just… all I want to know is the life my child can expect. How my wife and I can prepare for their birth…” He trailed off when he saw her face. “What?”

Sora hesitated. “She did not survive my birth,” she said simply, looking back at Thor. He felt his heart fall as she said, “My birth killed my mother. I do not know if it is possible to survive the birth of a half-Asgardian, if the mother is mortal, because frankly, I know very little of what being a half-Asgardian means beyond the fact that it has brought me very little but pain.” 

He was quiet. Processing. Sora's mother had died at birth. But she was alive and there and she might have answers, and health was better today than it was nearly a hundred years ago. And Sora's mother had not had access to Asgardian technology. THey could figure it out. They had to.

He could not lose her, after losing so many others.

“Then tell me what you do know. What happened to you, how you survived Tonsberg… everything.” Thor said. His blue eyes sparked with a plea, watching Sora. “Please.”

Sora hesitated. “It’s a long story.”

“I have time,” Thor replied quietly.

She sighed, staring him down on that sidewalk. And then, finally, she nodded, walking away and glancing back to be sure Thor would follow. “If we’re going to do this,” she mentioned. “I need a fucking drink.”

Thor followed, desperate for answers and for hope. And to be honest, a drink didn’t sound too bad.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Doctor Ingrid Andersen** \- Linda Fischer  
>  **Sora Larsen** \- Jodie Comer  
> 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sora tells her story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I actually just update within a reasonable amount of time?
> 
> Don't get used to it, but the plan is to finish this story and the one-shot directly after it before Camp NaNoWriMo starts. We'll see if it happens.
> 
> Trigger warning for attempted rape, referenced and implied experimentation/torture, recreational drug use, cancer, and alcoholism.

**1942**

Something was wrong.

She knew that the second she felt the bed shift next to her. Slept left her soon after, and she lifted her head, frowning when she saw her husband moving. It was late. It was dark out. Something was wrong. And then she could hear the distant sounds of gunfire, of screaming.

She slid out of the bed, grabbing a shawl hung over the headboard. More screaming came as she tugged it around her shoulders. She moved to the window, her fingers touching the glass as she stared blankly. She saw the distant fires, dark eyes burning brighter at the reflection as a hand went to her mouth.

“Jan?” Astrid Larsen frowned as continued to stare out the window. People had whispered that the tanks were coming for days before, but now… now they were too close to Tønsberg for comfort.

Now, they were _in_ Tønsberg. The war had come to this little village where she’d always felt so safe.

“Jan,” Astrid said, her voice sharp as she looked back at her husband, who was still dressing. He didn’t look back at her, instead tugging a shirt over him. “Who is it? The Nazis?”

Jan didn’t look back at his wife, merely pulling on his pants. “Stay here, with Ingrid,” he warned, looking back at her. “Your grandfather is in the church now, he’ll protect it.” He moved to Astrid, cupping her face. “And you must protect yourself, dear girl.”

“Jan, what is happening?” Astrid demanded, moving the doorway after him. She grabbed his wrist, stronger than she intended from his wince. “Jan. Tell me what is happening.”

“They’ve come for it.” Jan looked back over before saying, “They’re here for it. They’re heading straight to the church. They’ve come for it, Astrid.”

Her heart nearly stopped.

Her grandfather’s words popped into her head, a brush of a kiss on the top of her head as she asked about the parents she’d never known – the mother who died in a pool of her own blood, and the father gone long before her mother’s stomach began to swell with her. The father her grandfather claimed was not from this world.

_You have the blood of the gods inside of you, my dear girl. Never forget the stars in your blood._

The Sorens had guarded the Tesseract for generations. But these days, the Tesseract was not the only gift of the gods protected by her family, so claimed her grandfathers and uncles.

Jan was still talking. Astrid was barely paying attention, merely trying to breathe. Her grandfather had always said she was a child of the gods. She was stronger than her cousins, than anyone in the village. Healthier. More durable. They all knew she wasn’t normal; they just didn’t know what was abnormal about her.

And so her grandfather thought that her father was a god, as her mother had apparently claimed. Astrid did not know what she was. But she knew that she was different, and that was dangerous, whether she was a gift of the gods or not.

A hand moved to her shoulder, and Astrid’s dark green gaze flickered to her husband. “They will not find you,” Jan assured her. “They are not searching for you. They are searching for the treasure, nothing more.”

“Men always find more than they were looking for,” Astrid murmured, looking away as she took another deep breath, closing her eyes. “Go. Go help my grandfather. I will be fine here with Ingrid.”

Jan nodded, leaning in to kiss her quietly. She took it softly, watching him leave as she felt everything going numb. She had to remain calm. She had a two-year-old here, a daughter who would be terrified, a daughter with half of her blood. She had to protect Ingrid, make sure that she was safe.

“Mama?”

Astrid froze before turning sharply. Two-year-old Ingrid stood in the doorway, rubbing her eyes. Tears stained her tiny face, and she whimpered. “Mama, loud,” Ingrid complained, her hands going to her ears. The blasts of gunfire and tanks were so much closer now, and Astrid moved forward, pulling Ingrid tightly into her arms.

It was then the first tank blast shot through Tønsberg, followed by what was clearly the sound of a house collapsing, and Astrid felt her heart nearly stop.

Ingrid screamed, and Astrid clung to her, shushing her carefully. “It’s alright, my love, it will be alright,” she promised, praying she was telling the truth as she kissed the top of her head. “All will be well, my love.”

She glanced back over at the window before tugging a quilt she'd made long off her bed. She wrapped it around Ingrid carefully, pressing a kiss to her daughter’s head, hurrying and moving down the stairs. She took a deep breath before moving and blowing out the candle, taking a deep breath as she moved to the floor against the counter, holding her daughter tightly.

The sounds came closer. Explosions.

And then all fell silent, and Astrid’s heart nearly stopped.

They were at the church. They had to be. Jan and her grandfather were at that church. She had to do something. If she truly had the blood of the gods, then she had something that could defend the Tesseract from those who sought it. She was a Soren, as much as anyone, and they had made a solemn promise to protect the Tesseract, no matter what.

There was a little compartment down below the rug, that lead into the cellar. It was easy to escape, and Ingrid used it often for hide and seek. Astrid managed to hold onto Ingrid before moving down into the basement, lighting a single candle and leaving it there.

“Look at me, Ingrid,” she murmured, kissing her daughter’s forehead. “Stay here, darling. Do not leave. If you here people come, blow out the candle. Do you understand, my love?”

Ingrid nodded tearfully as she looked back up. “Gonna find Daddy, Mama?” she asked, sniffling as she held onto the blanket. Ingrid was a daddy’s girl to the end.

Astrid only smiled, leaning to kiss her forehead again. “And I’ll find you after, I promise,” she whispered. “I love you, Ingrid. More than anything.”

But if even one of her grandfather’s stories were true, then she could not let the Tesseract be taken by men who clearly intended to use it for harm. Astrid moved away from her daughter before she could change her mind, closing the latch down to the basement before hurrying out, grabbing a cloak and tugging it over her head, hurrying down the streets.

The church was in sight when she heard a gunshot. Then she saw the state of the church.

The front of the church was collapsed. There was a tank in front of it. And a hand went over Astrid’s mouth as she realized that there was almost no way that her husband and grandfather had survived. But she was a Soren in the end, and she would not let anything stop her.

She’d barely taken a step forward when further gunfire went out, tank blasts. And then a man moved in front of her, and Astrid shouted despite herself.

She scrambled back, gasping when she went down hard, the man smirking as he moved down on top of her, taking a knife and pinning her down. She could feel her heart beating in her ears, and then, as he tried to rip her dress, she felt rage slip into her, blinding everything.

The blood of gods ran through her veins. She would not die like this.

Her head slammed into his, hard enough that he screamed in pain. Astrid dimly realized that it would draw attention, but she did not care. She slammed her head into his shoulder, and she heard bone crack. She saw his hand slamming towards her stomach, a knife in hand, too late.

Astrid cried out when the knife went into her stomach. It hurt. It would kill a mortal.

But Astrid was not a mortal. Not completely.

She grit her teeth, glaring at the man. His face went white when he realized that it had barely hurt her. It had made her angry. She grabbed the knife, pulling it out of her stomach before her hand went around his throat. He was too stunned to react.

“Wrong place to stab.” Astrid reached out, grabbed his throat, and snapped his neck like she was snapping her fingers.

His body hit the ground, and she forced herself to her feet, breathing heavily as she looked back towards the church.

The Tesseract was lost. There was no way that Jan and her grandfather were alive. She had to get out of there, before it was too late. She had to get to Ingrid and get out of there. They could survive long enough to find a safe village. She should not have come out, but her Soren blood was as strong as the blood her grandfather claimed came from Valhalla.

It was then that a gun pressed against her head, and an arm went around her.

She realized then she was doomed.

Astrid shouted as she was tugged to the main tank, fighting every step, despite the gun to her head. If she died, it would be better than what might follow. The soldier before had already tried, and she was angry. She glared as she was sent down to her knees, breathing heavily as she pressed a hand to her bleeding wound, though it seemed cooler than it had before.

“She broke his neck,” the one soldier said, clearly shocked. The body of the dead soldier was dropped in front of Astrid. “She broke his neck like it was a twig.”

Astrid blinked back blood and tears as she looked ahead of her and saw the man in charge.

For the rest of her days, Astrid would remember seeing Johann Schmidt. And for the rest of her days, she would remember that the stories never truly got how terrifying the Red Skull was.

Schmidt smiled as he stepped forward, tilting her head up. “I believe you might be one of those little grandchildren of the Church Keeper, aren’t you?” he wondered, raising a brow as he looked back down at her. He paused when he cut away part of her shirt, staring down at the wound. She tried to back away, but she ran into the legs of one of the soldiers. “Well, well.”

Astrid managed to glance down, and her heart almost stopped.

The stab wound, minutes old, looked days old. It was almost healing before their very eyes. And as Schmidt’s eyes flickered to her, Astrid forced herself to remain defiant, glaring at him.

“Perhaps the Tesseract was not all that was hidden here.” Schmidt stared down at her, cold, calculating. “Take her,” he said simply, turning away. “Send her to Reinhardt. He will find her interesting.”

The last thing Astrid saw was the red blood on his HYDRA pin, as the butt of a rifle slammed into her temple. The last things she thought were whether it was her husband or grandfather’s blood on that pin, and whether her daughter would survive.

She had little doubt she would not.

* * *

  **1946**

She was happy.

Two years in captivity. Two years in hell. Two years of torture and experimentation and pain, and the only thing that had forced Astrid to hang on was the fact that she did not know the fate of her daughter.

She found her chance for escape after two years. She killed several guards. She didn’t care. They had treated her as nothing but an experiment, an animal, so she’d killed them as her grandmother had killed goats in the backyard as she grew up. But there was rage behind her, not mercy. She wanted them dead. She made sure their deaths hurt.

Astrid made sure they knew who was killing them, and why.

She wanted nothing more than to find Reinhardt and kill him. But she was afraid of him, and she wanted to escape. She briefly wondered of others, of the girl in the cage who he seemed to be more focused on. When it became clear that her longevity lay in her blood, he had focused instead on her.

She hated how that was a relief to her. While Reinhardt focused on the immortal girl from China, she could escape some pain.

Astrid could only hope that her death was quick, when it came.

She went back to Norway, to find her daughter. It took two more years of searching, of retracing steps. She found the orphanage Ingrid was taken to first. From there, it took little convincing to gain access to those records. Ingrid had been adopted within two years of her arrival, by a well-off family, by the soldier who had found her in the rubble.

They were in a park when Astrid found Ingrid, and she froze.

Ingrid was six now, six years old and beautiful and laughing as she chased a little boy, two older ones behind her. A laughing pair of adults sat nearby, the man on crutches with only one leg. That did not stop him from bending down and picking up Ingrid, her laughter contagious enough to draw a smile across Astrid’s face.

Then she heard it.

“Spin me, Papa! Mama, look!”

Her heart broke.

She was happy. She’d been adopted. She had brothers. She had parents who clearly adored her. Astrid was her mother, in the end of it.

But who was she to take her away from a family that she clearly loved? The choice was clear. There wasn’t a choice, in the end of it. Not if she wanted to be the mother that Ingrid truly deserved at the end of it.

Astrid walked away from her daughter. She would not take her away from this happiness, from the brothers she had, to the parents who loved her as their own.

She was a mother. And a mother always put their child’s happiness above their own.

* * *

  **1955**

She was not aging.

It took a few years to notice it. She left Norway after seeing Ingrid happy with her new family. She traveled at first, through Italy and Germany and other places, avoiding people with everything she had.

And then, on a day in 1955, Astrid caught herself in the mirror and realized she looked the same as she had ten years ago.

Not a single wrinkle. The only marks were where Reinhardt had experimented on her. She was not aging. She was not changing. She was stuck at the age she was at, eternally looking twenty-something even when she was in her mid-thirties.

“What am I?” she whispered, staring blankly.

_You are the child of gods, my granddaughter._

Her grandfather’s voice echoed in her head, and Astrid flinched. Her fist lashed out, shattering the mirror and her own reflection with it.

She needed answers more than that.

* * *

  **1969**

She ignored it, at first.

Astrid traveled, ignoring the questions nagging at the back of her head. She would never find answers. There was no way her father was alive, wherever he might be. And even if he was, she did not want to see the man who had abandoned her mother to die delivering her.

Instead, she focused on anything but that.

Woodstock was nothing that Astrid expected. She could not get drunk, but drugs, particularly heroin, at least gave her a buzz. She could pretend that weed did the same. It was at Woodstock, while high on drugs and on the life around her, that she met Grace Kaine.

She was beautiful, red hair and green eyes, laugh lines all around her face. They shared a swig of vodka, and then Grace leaned down, kissed her, and finally introduced herself.

“I’m Grace,” the redhead laughed, already the most beautiful creature she’d seen in her life, with drugs or without.

Sora couldn’t respond other than squeaking out, “I’m Astrid.” Everyone around them danced and partied, and the distant sounds of the music surrounded everything. It was overwhelming and perfect and she would never forget this moment.

“Have you never kissed a girl before?” Grace laughed, the firelight turning her hair into a painting of fire and flames, of destruction and rebirth, of the cycles that had dominated her life.

Astrid gave a quiet smile. “I don’t think I’ve ever kissed someone I truly wanted to before.”

She had loved Jan. She truly had. He had been a good man. But she’d had very little choice in marrying him. Jan was kind, and he had given her one of the things that mattered most in the world, the little girl who was growing up happily in Norway with a family that adored her.

Astrid pushed that pain away and focused on Grace.

Grace raised an eyebrow. “Do you want to kiss again?” she hummed.

She didn’t give her a chance to respond, instead leaning forward and kissing Grace eagerly, her hands curled up in her red hair, Grace’s hands on her hips.

For once, for the first time in decades, everything was right in the world.

In later years, Astrid would not remember Woodstock, beyond the taste of Grace’s lipstick and the feeling of belonging for the first time in decades.

* * *

**1983**

She stood in the back during the funeral, watched as Grace’s body was lowered into the ground.

They’d lived in San Francisco for nearly fifteen years together. They’d been happy, living in a boarding house. They’d played and ran wild together, hand in hand, blond and red hair mixed.

And then, less than a year before, Grace had found a lump on her breast.

Her family did not know of Astrid. She claimed she was a friend from work, which was not untrue. But she remained in the back of the funeral, blinking back tears as she watched the woman she loved buried in the ground.

Numbly, she wondered if she was doomed to watch everyone she loved die.

It was then Astrid decided that she needed answers. If she was doomed to never age, to bury everyone she loved, cursed by the gods her grandfather served so loyally, she needed answers. And those answers would start with her parents – more particular, the father she’d never known.

She would never visit Grace’s grave again.

* * *

**1992**

It took nine years to find him.

He was a university professor in Spain. Before that, he’d been in Moscow, in Sweden, London and Belfast. And he’d been to Tønsberg, once upon a time. More than a few times, if her guess was correct.

The worst came to it, if she was wrong, she could claim that she was drunk or high. She’d been around enough of those to know how to fool nearly everyone. But something told her that she was right, as she went to him at the end of an academic semester, watching as he pulled his keys from his pocket to lock his door.

“Professor Randolph?” she asked, her voice surprisingly calm.

She could almost hear his eye roll. “If you have questions about your paper, then you should have asked me before the day it was due-“

“Helga Soren.”

The man paused in the doorway, turning to look back over, clearly surprised. She watched his face, her chin lifting up as she watched him, hiding any trace of fear. Two years in HYDRA had taught her how to hide that fear.

They stood in silence for minutes. She knew that she was right. She knew that she was right from the mirror image of features that she’d never seen before, of traits she’d only seen in the mirror before now. She was right. She knew that she was right.

Astrid knew from the look on Elliot Randolph’s face that she was right.

“And how do you know the name of a women dead for nearly eight decades?” Randolph asked, staring at her. He was almost calm, but the realization and panic in his eyes were clear.

He knew who she was. That much was obvious.

Astrid tilted her chin before saying, her voice low, “From her daughter, alive for as long but passing for not thirty.” She swallowed before saying, “And I believe you are her daughter’s father.” Astrid hesitated only breathing. “My father.”

Her father. This was her father.

Randolph stared at her before opening the door. “I think we should talk.”

Astrid entered the office, turning to look at him. She had some of his features. The same posture. The same shape of eyes, the same inquisitive tilt to their head as they studied each other. There was no doubt in her mind that she was his daughter. And it was clear that he believed it as well.

For a few minutes they were silent, studying each other. Astrid was the one to break the silence. This was her chance to find answers, after decades of suffering. She would not lose that now.

“What am I?” she asked. Her voice was weak with exhaustion, and she forced anger into her voice. “What am I?”

Randolph watched her. “What do you think you are?”

The smile she gave was bitter and angry. “Cursed.”

He scoffed. “You’re not cursed. You really don’t have any idea what you are?”

Sora’s hand gripped the chair’s arm to splinter it. “How could I?” she demanded, moving to her feet. “My mother bled to death giving birth to me and my father was never around. My grandfather claimed I had the blood of the gods but his sanity was not completely there even when I was a child. I just knew I was strong and durable enough that the Nazis were able to experiment on me for two years without killing me. How the bloody _fuck_ was I supposed to know what I am!?”

The chair’s armrest snapped. She ignored the splinters.

There was genuine horror on his face as he watched her, listened to her. And she thought for a moment she saw regret on his face as he swallowed and strengthened himself. What he said next was not something she expected.

“Your grandfather was right,” he said simply. “Perhaps not right in terminology, but in theory… he was right.”

_You have the blood of the gods, my girl._

Sora didn’t say a word, merely staring blankly at him. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“I’m not of this world,” Randolph said simply. “I hail from Asgard, from another realm.”

“Asgard is…” Astrid shook her head, staring blankly at him. “Asgard is from my grandfather’s stories. It’s nothing more than a myth. I told my two-year-old stories of Thor and Loki to put her to sleep.”

They were stories. Nothing more.

“Except those stories weren’t myths. Well, some of them were. But not all of them.” Randolph grabbed a bottle of brandy, tugging off the lid before grabbing a glass. He paused, setting the glass down before drinking straight from the bottle. “Those stories of gods and monsters? Bastardized, dramatized, but based on truth, on people of other realms, on their protectors from those realms.”

Astrid shook her head before moving forward and grabbing the brandy, downing half of it in one drink. She didn’t even choke on it. “The Soren story was that we were descended from a man who fought beside Asgard against Jotunheim,” she said, her voice shaking.

Even decades since she’d recited it, she remembered every word. Astrid could nearly hear her grandfather recite it, the giggles of her cousins, the fond chuckle of her grandmother.

“The Allfather left the Tesseract there to the human who fought beside them, to guard against those who might seek it,” Astrid said, closing her eyes as she held onto the bottle. “And so it is the Soren’s duty, the oldest son of the oldest son, so on and so on.” She looked back at him. “And we protected it until Schmidt came.”

“Your grandfather was guarding something he claimed was from the gods, which frankly, has the power of gods,” Randolph said simply. “Except that we ourselves are not gods. We bleed and live and die as you do. It just takes longer.”

_You have the blood of the gods inside of you, my dear girl. Never forget the stars in your blood._

She assumed for decades that her grandfather had been denying fact, that he had chose to believe those stories as a coping mechanism to his dead only daughter.

Her grandfather had been right all along.

“He always said I had the blood of gods,” Astrid said, her voice soft. “That I had the stars in my blood. But you’re saying I’m…”

“Half Asgardian,” he replied, his tone almost calm. “A child of two worlds.”

She had always thought it was her grandfather’s doting, as his only granddaughter, born of his only daughter. Now, Astrid knew the truth. And the truth was almost more terrifying, more overwhelming than she could have thought.

Before she could stop herself, Astrid leaned over the chair and threw up as she realized that in some ways, she was truly cursed.

* * *

**1999**

“So, you want a new identity?”

Astrid flinched when she heard the voice. Randolph had sent her to the underground enhanced ring that helped with his identities. She needed a new one. She needed to leave Astrid behind, forever. She'd spent the last few years trying to kill herself in alcohol and drugs. Nothing worked. Astrid Soren was still alive.

If she wanted to live, Astrid Soren needed to die.

“Yes,” she said calmly. “Everything. Passport, records… everything you can get. The top of the line. I have the money.”

Saving for a few decades gave her a decent bank account, if nothing else. She tugged a hand through her hair, taking a deep breath as she looked out the window. 1999 was coming to an end. This century was ending.

So was the life of Astrid Soren, the girl she’d been born.

“And who do you want to be?” the woman asked simply, watching her with a fond smile. She had papers in front of her, and she raised an eyebrow. A pencil hovered over where her new name, her new identity would be written.

She hesitated. Behind her, the clock counted down, and 2000 began.

“Sora Larsen,” she said, feeling the name click into her head, a resurrection of knowledge after a lifetime of ignorance. “My name is Sora Larsen.”

* * *

**2014**

The Parisian bar was seedy, uncomfortable, and full of smoke, but Thor did not dare complain as Sora told her story.

The woman looked completely exhausted by the end of it. She took another ale from the bartender as he passed, downing it easily as she looked hopelessly down at the empty glass.

“I can’t even get drunk,” Sora said simply. There was no bitterness in her voice, merely weary resignation. “The best I can hope for is buzzed, if I drink enough in a short amount of time.”

Thor swallowed, sighing as he sipped at his own lager. They would serve this to children on Asgard. “Perhaps you haven’t been drinking the right ale,” Thor muttered. He’d promised Steve Rogers that he would bring Asgardian ale the next time he went to Asgard. He would have to bring some for Sora.

Sora scoffed, shaking her head before looking back at him. “I don’t think you have to worry for your wife. She has every advantage my mother did not.”

Thor knew that she was right. He knew from hearing her story that bringing Jane to Asgard for the birth was the only option. A human hospital might not be able to handle it, but an Asgardian healer could. If it saved her life and their child’s life, he knew that Jane would agree.

But he hated the fact that someone had suffered a life like Sora’s.

Sora only sighed, looking back at him. “I have spent decades looking for answers. The ones I found from my father weren’t enough.” She wiped away what suspiciously looked like tears. “I don’t know if I’m helping you or not, but… I think that’s the first time I’ve said it out loud.”

Thor swallowed heavily, looking back down at her. He was tempted to reach out to pat her back, to offer comfort, but he knew that she might not want it. “And I appreciate the trust you took to tell me.”

“You pay for all the alcohol I drank here, and we’ll consider it even.”

Thor chuckled weakly, but sighed and looked back over at her, his face softening. “What I know,” he said simply, “Is that you are of my people. And that is enough for me to know that I will be here if you need it.”

Sora scoffed slightly before shaking her head. She looked back at him before saying, “You said… you said your wife is pregnant? That’s why you’re here?”

Thor swallowed heavily. “Yes. And… and it has taken a toll on her health. She is strong, but we… knowing more about your life will set both of us at ease more.”

She gave a sad smile, looking down at the glass of beer in her hand, downing it. “I understand the feeling.” Sora shook her head before pointing out, “There are lightyears of difference between your wife and my mother though. She has access to Asgard. And eighty plus years of medicinal advances. My mother had none of those.”

“But you have still lived a life. You said so yourself. You are nearly ninety-four but barely appear in your late twenties. It’s similar to how I have aged.” Thor sighed before looking back at her. “You can provide valuable insight. And though I’ve abdicated the throne, I have a responsibility to the people of Asgard. That includes you.”

Sora scoffed, though she didn’t reply. She sighed as she took another drink, looking anywhere but him.

“Will you come with me to London?” Thor asked quietly. “Not just for Jane. But… you deserve a chance to learn more of your heritage.”

Sora hesitated. “I will need a few days to take time off of work, and to arrange a place to stay. It should be easy enough to find a hotel or something else.” She looked back at him before saying, “I’ve had questions for decades. I don’t know if it’ll be enough, but…”

“But?” Thor pressed.

She looked down. “I do not want another child to live as I did, wondering whether they were cursed,” she admitted. She looked back at him before saying, “Maybe everything I’ve gone through will have been worth it, if I can help someone else.”

Thor swallowed heavily, watching her carefully before looking away. He was tired. But the fact that she was willing, in the end of it, to help them despite her pain, was something he would never not be grateful for.

“Perhaps another drink first?” Thor asked.

A genuine smile crossed Sora’s face. “Careful. I might start to like you.”

It was perhaps, in that moment, that Thor Odinson decided to himself that like it or not, he was adopting Sora Larsen. He just hoped Jane would agree.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Jan Larsen** – Marek Oravec  
>  **Grace Kaine** – Ashley Clements  
>  Jan is the scuffy-beard guy from the beginning of The First Avenger, and Sora's grandfather is Walder Frey himself in the same scene. Just some world building and tying together and all that fun.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonds are forged. The world changes. Sora sews.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a few time skips. The first section in early February 2014, the second parts in late March and then early April 2014. It overlaps with Winter Soldier and I Am the Storm.

“You adopted a ninety-year-old half Aesir just before your own is born.”

“She’ll be ninety-four in June.”

“Still a drop in our buckets.”

“Yet far above any Midgardian.” Though, if Thor remembered correctly, Captain Rogers was a year or two older than Sora. He would have to introduce them sometime.

Thor shook his head and pulled a few bottles of beer from the fridge, setting them on the counter. February was still cool, but Jane’s mother had a fire pit in the backyard. And they all wanted to celebrate the fact that Jane was officially out of the first trimester – and the fact that she had not had any form of morning sickness or fainting for two weeks.

Sigyn was back from the States for at least a bit, and Thor had admittedly been eager for her and Sora to meet. They would have knowledge that the other wanted, and he was relieved that she might have better knowledge of what Sora might wish to know about half her heritage.

The scholar frowned slightly as she looked back at Thor. “How old is Jane, anyway?” she wondered. “I know it’s a rude question to ask, but I’m curious what your age difference is.”

“Thirty-four.” Thor paused before admitting, “If we’re being technical, the age I’m at as an Asgardian is equivalent to late twenties, early thirties on Midgard. I believe we decided she is about two or three years older than me, technically. But you know our lifespan is different from theirs.”

“Not as bad as it could be.” Sigyn shuddered slightly before pointing out, “We’re heading into dangerous territory here. I’ll let you make one joke about me being a cradle robber for Loki, and then we move along.”

Thor gave a genuine laugh. “You are between us in age, that is not too far.”

“Yet from what the way Fandral made fun of me for it you would think I was Odin’s age.” She sipped at her beer with a clearly fond smile. “Jane’s feeling better though? Morning sickness gone?”

“For the most part. She’ll have moments of nausea, and the smell of fish still makes her lose her stomach.” Thor’s eyes flickered to the outside table. Jane was sitting between her mom and Darcy, laughing at something Darcy said. Nanna the cat was on Jill’s lap, tail flicking as Thor’s mother-in-law stroked her back. Sora and Selvig were on the other side of the table, both listening in clear horror to the story she was telling. Jane’s other hand rested on her now visible stomach, and Thor could only smile happily at the sight.

The scholar followed his gaze and smiled. “She really does make you happy, doesn’t she?” Sigyn asked.

“She does.” Thor chuckled softly before saying, “Some of the people I care about most in my life are here right now. I consider it a good night.”

“Cheers to that then.” Sigyn shuddered slightly as she took another sip of beer. “I won’t lie, I despise Midgardian alcohol. I would let Volstagg’s toddler drink this as milk before bed, and Volstagg once gave her ale in a bottle instead of milk.”

“I remember that. I thought that Gyna would murder him.” The memory sparked something, and he grinned. Thor rummaged in his pocket, tugging out a silver flask. “It’s a good thing I brought this then, isn’t it?” he wondered, laughing as he popped it open and added it to his beer. “Sigyn?”

Sigyn held out her mug eagerly. “Absolutely.” She downed the drink a moment later, making a clearly pleased sound after. “Oh, that’s good ale, too.”

“Better?” Thor asked, laughing.

“Much.” Sigyn raised her glass, and Thor clinked his against it. “I do miss Asgardian food and ale. My parents. Sif and the Warriors Three. The royal library.” Sigyn looked back out the window, “But I love it on Midgard. It’s simple. Quiet. And I am happier here.”

So was he, in some ways. But Thor could never admit that out loud to himself.

Sigyn looked towards the table, watching Sora carefully. “I’m glad you were able to find a hybrid. Even if Jane’s health isn’t at risk… knowing the baby will not be alone in their life. I think it helps Sora, too, knowing that she is not alone.”

Since he’d found her in Paris and since she’d temporarily relocated to London, they met at least every few days. He’d explained what she wanted to know of Asgard. She talked about her health and strengths. Sora was strong in a way that reminded him of Jane and Sif, his mother. And he genuinely liked her. And he was glad that he could help her in whatever small way.

“I think Sora is lonely,” Thor said quietly. “And I understand that feeling. Perhaps not as much as others might, but…”

She looked back at him before pointing out quietly, “You might not understand loneliness as much as others do… but loss, Thor? That’s a thing you’ve come to know quite well. And the two often overlap.” Sigyn’s voice trailed off as the kitchen door slid open, and Sora came in, holding a few empty bottles.

Sora paused as she looked between them. “Am I interrupting something?” she asked, ready to depart at a second’s notice “I can go back out…”

Thor waved his hand, gesturing for her to come further in. “No, please. I don’t think you two have been properly introduced,” he mentioned. “Sora, this is Sigyn Tyrsdottir, one of the brightest minds of Asgard and a dear friend. Sigyn, this is Sora Larsen, half Asgardian and a friend.”

He noticed that Sora looked almost surprised to be considered a friend. Sigyn gave a smile before offering a hand, shaking Sora’s firmly when she gripped it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sora.”

“Likewise.” She glanced back at the flask before raising an eyebrow. “What is that?”

“Asgardian ale.” Thor raised it before raising a brow at her. “Interested?”

A genuine grin broke across her face. “Do you know how much normal alcohol I have to drink to get drunk?” She smirked before holding out her drink. “If there’s an easier way, I am all here for it.”

“Then by all means.” He poured some into her glass. The flash itself was self-refilling, which made it a delightfully useful contraption. Thor gave a delighted smile, watching eagerly as Sora took her first sip. He chuckled when she coughed slightly but swallowed it easily. “There we go!”

“That is strong,” Sora coughed, though she grinned as she said, “But good.”

“And now you are a true Asgardian,” Thor said solemnly, clearly beaming with pride.

Sora only laughed, rolling her eyes before downing the rest of it, getting a few more beers and pouring them in. She’d clearly been sent on the next round run. “I will admit that Asgard knows how to make alcohol.”

“Oh thank the Tree, she doesn’t throw it and yell for another,” Sigyn mentioned, rolling her eyes. “She has manners.”

“It’s a tradition!” Thor protested, looking at Sigyn.

“It’s a stupid tradition, Thor.”

“You have no respect for our customs.”

“Not for the dumb customs.”

“I will absolutely take another though,” Sora laughed. “As long as the throwing is optional. Jane’s mother seems too nice to deal with the mess.”

Thor smiled, if only for the fact that he was maybe building his own family here on Midgard. And maybe Sigyn and Sora were finding their families as well.

The thought of it was enough, for at least tonight.

* * *

 

 Jane couldn’t sleep.

It was late-March now, a bit chilly out, but the baby would not stop kicking for anything. So Jane slid out of bed, smiling quietly when she heard Thor snoring. He slept on his stomach, his hair messy and loose. Nanna the cat, now a bigger ball of fluff compared to when she’d been a kitten, slept on his back, her head lifting when Jane woke up.

The astrophysicist scratched behind her ear, drawing a purr from the cat. Jane slipped out of bed, tugging the silk robe Pepper Potts had given her as a wedding gift around her shoulders.

Her stomach was larger now, protruding with the child that was coming sooner rather than later. According to Doctor McCoy, she was carrying more like someone in her sixth month than her late fourth. They were keeping a close eye on it. Thor was discussing with Sigyn bringing her mother, Asgard’s highest healer, down to Earth.

Her baby kicked again, and Jane winced, leaning against the wall.

“You hungry or something?” Jane asked softly as she paused on the stairwell. “Because I ate like an hour ago. Maximum. I ate barbecue chicken for you, and I hate barbeque.” Really, she’d been craving pork – which she’d never had – but she had resisted that much. “You really want more?”

A kick to her ribs was her only response.

“You really are your father’s child,” Jane muttered. It was said with a smile though.

Following the party, they’d left their apartment and moved to the admittedly large home that Jane’s mother lived in. Jill was more than thrilled to cohabitate with her pregnant daughter and son-in-law. Jill was not stupid, and she knew how hard this pregnancy was. She’d taken leave from her gallery and the college classes she taught, focusing instead on Jane’s health and doing projects at the house. Her house was admittedly gorgeous, with a large backyard and a koi pond that Nanna was obsessed with.

Since she and Ian were apparently having a few fights as of late, Darcy had taken over the apartment, with Sora taking the second room. Or rather, most nights Sora took the second room. The other nights she was spending at the house with them.

Jane glanced out the window and realized that it was one of those nights. Sora was sitting on the small garden wall, facing the koi pond. One leg was pulled to her chest, and she rested her chin on her knee.

The astrophysicist poured her tea, watching Sora carefully. The girl barely moved. They were far enough outside of London that the light pollution was not as bad as it could be. Jill Foster might deny it to the end of her days, but she’d chosen this house partially for that. She was glad that Sora seemed to appreciate it too.

Jane swallowed, watching Sora through the window. She moved back to the kettle and poured a second cup of tea, making her way to the porch a moment later. Sora did not react when she slid open the sliding glass door.

“Hey,” Jane said, tugging the blanket around her. She gripped the mugs tightly. “I didn’t know you were here.”

Sora jumped half a mile, looking back over before saying, “I’m sorry. I um… didn’t want to be alone tonight, and Darcy was out with Elisa. Thor said I could sleep in the guest room, you were already asleep and your mother said I was welcome…” Her eyes flickered down as she said, “I’m sorry if I’m intruding.”

“You’re not,” Jane assured her, hesitating before saying, “If you want to be alone out here though…”

Sora shook her head. “No. That’s alright. It’s your house.”

“My mother’s house, actually. And she likes you.” She set the second mug of tea next to Sora, and smiled at the grateful look shot her way. Jane took a deep breath before sitting down, looking out at the stars. “I really do appreciate you coming here. Talking to us. I know it’s got to be bringing up a lot of painful memories.”

“I have a lifetime of those.” Jane was impressed that her smile was only slightly bitter. “Confronting a few isn’t a bad thing.”

“Something to be said in confronting nightmares.” Jane sighed as she sipped her tea, moving to sit on the lounge chair, grateful to let her feet up. Her ankles had been swollen like nothing else in this pregnancy. “That’s something my uncle Isaac said. He's a therapist. I talked to him after the Aether.”

Sora looked back at her where she sat. Jane didn’t look at her, instead letting her choose whether or not she opened up. To her genuine surprise, Sora took the mug of tea and moved to the lounge chair next to Jane, her own legs spread out in front of her.

“Thor told me of it, on the tube ride from Paris to London,” Sora admitted. “He told me that he believed that the Tesseract might have an Infinity Stone inside of it. And… and it takes enormous strength to hold even one, briefly.”

Jane smiled dryly before admitting, “I’ve been told that by a few people. I just… I held on. That was the only thing I could do.”

She had survived being bonded to an Infinity Stone. It was only in the aftermath of the Aether, of the Dark Elves and London, that Jane learned how truly remarkable it was. The Aether should have killed her within hours, but she had been strong enough to hold onto it.

“People underestimate how strong women can be,” Sora replied simply. “And sometimes… the only thing you can do is hold on.”

That statement was spoken with experience Jane knew to be personal. The astrophysicist sipped at her tea and looked back over at Sora, hesitating as she tried to word her question in the best way possible. There was no way that she could phrase it right. Her hand moved to her stomach. Her baby kicked underneath her skin, and Jane considered it a reassurance, that her baby was alive and well and safe in her belly.

“Can I ask you something?” Jane asked, quietly. “I might sound insensitive.”

Sora waved her hand before saying, “You’ll have to try very hard to insult me. Go ahead and ask.”

Jane swallowed, sipping her tea and wishing it was alcohol. “Do you resent your parents?”

The silence between them was deafening. Sora stared at the stars above them, sighing deeply as she sipped at her own tea. “My father more so than my mother, though resentment is not the right word,” Sora admitted. “But he didn’t know that hybrids are possible. If he’d known about me? Then hell yes I would have. But he didn’t. And my mother… she didn’t know any of it. She just knew she wanted something, and she took it. And then my father left her pregnant.”

Jane swallowed, a hand moving to her stomach again. The baby kicked once more.

She’d felt nothing but relief when Thor found Sora, confirmed that an Asgardian-human hybrid could survived and thrive from a human mother. But she was still struggling to understand everything else. And she was beyond worried that her child might hate her and Thor for the burden they were throwing on them at birth.

“I’ve spent a lot of my life angry,” Sora said quietly. “That anger will always be a part of me, but…” She looked back before saying quietly, “It does not define me. It has not consumed me.” Sora looked back at Jane before admitting, “And if someone else, another child, can avoid how I felt… that’s what matters most to me.”

Another kick punctuated the end of her sentence. “I’ve been worrying about it. That I’m not enough.” Jane gave a laugh. “I’ve never been worried or self-conscious about my brains. I know I’m good at what I do.”

“You’re about to win a Nobel Prize, you’re very good at what you do.”

Jane managed to smile. “But with everything else, as a friend, a daughter, a wife and a mother… it’s that stuff I worry about more. And I really have been worrying that this kid might resent me for bringing him into a world where he doesn’t completely belong…”

She was worried for him. Jill had told her that she would always worry about her kids, but this was a fear, an anxiety, that threatened to tear her to pieces. She could not let herself be overthrown by this, but god, she was pregnant with a child that was completely unique, part Asgardian and human. Sora was the only other one they knew about, and the little she knew of her life was that it had been hell.

“Can I tell you something important?” Sora asked, looking back to Jane. “You will never feel as though you are doing enough.”

Jane swallowed, looking back at Sora. She did not tear her gaze away. She watched the half-Asgardian steadily, listening intently.

Being lectured on motherhood by a woman who appeared half a decade younger than her but was in reality about three times older than her was bizarre. Jane watched her before looking back out at the garden, closing her eyes.

“You will never feel like you’ve done enough for your child. You will question every decision and choice you make. You will wonder if they hate you when you tell them no.” She smiled sadly before saying, “You will always hate the fact that you cannot protect them from everything. But when they look up at you and smile and reach up for you… those moments make it alright. Just a bit.”

Sora hadn’t gotten that. She had not been able to see her daughter grow up. But she was confident enough that she had made the choice to leave Ingrid with the family that had taken her in.

“Do you regret leaving her behind?” Jane asked after minutes of silence. She was almost afraid to ask it.

“No.” There was no hesitation in her voice. Sora finished her tea before putting it down on the table between them. “She was happy. She was loved. And I… after what I went through in HYDRA, I needed to figure out what was in my mind. And I know that she grew up well.”

“If it helps,” Jane said quietly. “Ingrid seemed happy. Successful. And she… she doesn’t hold anything against you. And she does think you might be alive. If you would want to see her…”

Sora shook her head, firmly and quickly. “She has a life. I walked away from my chance to be in it once before. I can’t do that to her now.” The tone of her voice was enough that Jane knew to back off.

“Second chances are a thing.” Jane put a hand on her stomach before saying, “I get it though.”

Sora shot her a surprised look, and Jane gave a sad smile.

“The baby’s kicking now. And… and I just know that I’ll do whatever I have to if it means protecting it. Making it happy. Even if it meant I never got to see them again. Because someday, that might happen. They’ll outlive me. Thor will probably outlive it.”

Sora hesitated. “From what I understand, my lifespan is only a bit ahead of theirs. My father guessed that I would live a fraction of that Asgardians do, but more than enough. He guessed a millennia. Our lifespans would be similar. So I do promise this – I’ll keep an eye on them.” She looked back out at the stars, blinking back tears before saying, “This world is not kind to children of two worlds.”

Jane blinked back tears, keeping a hand on her stomach. She studied the stars as she felt another kick at her stomach.

“The world might not be,” Jane said softly. She looked back to Sora “But individual people are.”

And to Jane, that was enough to be reassured of her child’s future.

* * *

 

In the first few days of April, SHIELD fell and the world changed.

Jane and Thor hadn’t found out about it until the middle of the afternoon, while they’d been at a nearby farmer’s market. She’d thrown her phone into the bottom of her reusable shopping bag; Thor had forgotten his at home. It was a genuine and relaxing afternoon, Thor hovering somewhere between adorable and annoying as he kept a hand behind her back, occasionally slipping to her belly.

The baby was still growing. It was doing well. And she was starting to feel genuinely excited for motherhood, even though the kid was using her bladder as a soccer ball.

Thor noticed her wince and moved forward. “Is it kicking?” he asked, moving forward eagerly to place a hand against her stomach. He grinned when he felt it. “He is a strong one.”

“You can stop pretending to be concerned when he kicks me. I know how much you love it,” Jane pointed out, trying to sound severe but failing miserably. The kicks were reassuring, that her baby was safe and fine and healthy.

“Take joy in my wife’s suffering? Never.” He winked down at her before bending to kiss her, pulling the reusable bag out of her hand. “Now let me carry-“ He frowned as he said, “Your phone is ringing.”

He was more sensitive to things like that than she was. “It better not be important, I’m on maternity leave now,” she muttered. Doctor McCoy had forced it on her, along with partial bedrest. Jane found her phone beneath some melon, frowning when she saw the alerts on the screen.

“What’s wrong?” Thor asked, frowning when he saw the look on her face.

“Twenty missed calls,” she said, her voice shaking slightly as she realized that something was wrong.

Thor moved forward instantly. “From who?” he demanded, looking down at her phone a moment later.

“Mom, Darcy, Erik, Sora…” Jane frowned as she looked back over at Thor and said, “Tony Stark. Natasha Romanoff.”

Something was very, very wrong.

Jane jumped when her phone vibrated again, a call from her mother. She answered it immediately.

“Mom?” she demanded, moving the phone to her ear as she looked at Thor. Her husband bent down to try and listen in. “Mom, what’s going on?”

“Jane, something’s happening in the States.” Jill’s voice was terrified and shaking. With a jolt, Jane realized her mother had been crying. “I don’t – I don’t know what’s going on, but they’re saying Captain America is dead…”

Thor looked at her sharply, and Jane grabbed his arm even as she heard the distant crack of thunder.

“We’re on our way home,” Jane said, her voice hard as she grabbed her husband’s arm and tugged him to the road. They’d walked the mile from Jill’s house to the market, but she hailed a cab. They didn’t have time to walk.

In the back of the cab was a television. And on that television was playing a scene that flipped her stomach – Helicarriers in the air, crashing into the Triskelion. Chaos. And HYDRA, emerging from the shadows where they’d hid. SHIELD, fallen completely.

“Oh my god,” Jane whispered, her hand going to her mouth.

She briefly wondered about the agents she knew. Sharon, the woman who’d acted as a bodyguard for her and Darcy during the New York debacle. Sitwell, who’d she met briefly in New Mexico. The people who had genuinely believed they were doing good, that they were doing the right thing.

A part of her was almost glad Coulson could not see this now.

“Holy shit,” Jane whispered, her arm going protectively around her stomach.

Thor’s hand curled around her stomach, and she took a deep breath. “Are you going to go?” Jane asked quietly.

“Not unless I am called,” he said quietly, looking back over. “Me running into this will help nothing. But if the Captain is dead… I will be sure he is avenged.”

It was hours later when Stark got a hold of them and assured them that Rogers was alive, that everything was falling apart but that they were trying to figure it out. Darcy got a hold of them, saying that she and Sora were on their way to the house, and that Sora was completely freaked out even if she was hiding it.

Selvig even came to the house. Elliott Randolph reached out to his daughter to make sure she was safe, that they were all safe. Everything was changing. Everything was falling apart.

Thor was in the garden later, staring out at the sky. He’d been out there for nearly an hour, watching the sky, the distant street, everything, for any sign that HYDRA was coming to attack them. HYDRA had already attacked the Captain in the hospital. Stark was keeping him updated, and wanted him back to the States, but Thor refused to leave Jane and the others. He knew the Captain would understand.

“You’re going to bring a thunderstorm on us.”

The god didn’t turn back, his scowl deepening as his grip on Mjolnir tightened. “It will give us some cover in a fight,” he pointed out.

Sora raised an eyebrow, turning as she walked into the garden. “I don’t see a fight on our hands. I do see Jill’s Dursley-like neighbor staring at you through her dumb curtains.” Thor’s eyes flickered to the only visible house, seeing the curtains move. “You need to breathe, Thor.”

“I am breathing.” Thor shook his head, taking a deep breath as he tried to calm down. He knew that he was anxious. But he knew that Jane would need him calm right now. “Jane is refusing to go to Asgard,” Thor said, his voice low. “Despite the fact that it would be safer.”

“Of course she is. Would you want to spend an already hard pregnancy on another world?” Sora asked bluntly, rolling her eyes as she sat down on the garden wall. To Thor’s surprise, she was sewing what appeared to be a quilt.

“HYDRA cannot get her there.”

“And if you think you don’t have enemies on Asgard, you’re an idiot.” Sora rolled her eyes. “If you make it storm and get this blanket wet, I will hurt you,” she warned, focused on her sewing. “Prince of Asgard or not. I’ve been working hard on this stupid thing, you’re not ruining it.”

“What are you even sewing? How are you sewing when this is happening?” Thor demanded, taking a deep breath to try and calm himself. He was terrified. He was terrified for Jane, for their child. But he knew he could not take it out on Sora.

The shock he felt at Sora’s answer was enough to snap him out of his dark thoughts. “A quilt for the baby.”

Thor paused in his pacing, turning to look at her. His face softened. “When we went to Ingrid’s office, there was a quilt over her couch. It looked old. Did you make it?” he asked softly, briefly remembering that office, that quilt. It felt like a lifetime ago.

She looked up sharply, clearly surprised. “Were there patterns on it?” she asked softly. “Nine sections?”

“The only circles I saw…” He close his eyes, trying to remember. “Triangles in a circle on the one. A valknut on another…”

Sora looked shaken, glancing down at the quilt in her hands. “I made that during my pregnancy with Ingrid,” she said softly. “I… when Tonsberg was attacked, I wrapped her in it before I took her down to the basement. I didn’t know she kept it.”

“It was on the couch in her office.” Thor sighed as he took a seat next to her at the table, putting Mjolnir in the seat nearby. “She clearly cared for it.”

Sora blinked a few moments, pushing back any emotion. She was still reluctant to talk of Ingrid, even over a month since they’d first met. “The Sorens considered the valknut a symbol for our family. Representing our promise to Odin.” She tugged her shirt up, and Thor saw an aged tattoo on her ribs. “I got this back in the early 2000s…”

“My father would be honored by your family’s devotion to your duty,” Thor said softly. “And I will be sure he knows that the Sorens filled it to the very end.”

She was silent as she tugged her shirt back down. Sora smiled quietly before going back to her sewing. “I know my grandfather would be proud of that,” she said simply. “As would my uncles.”

“Not so much you?” Thor asked teasingly.

The half-Aesir laughed. “What, you think I wouldn’t show proper respect to the Allfather?” she demanded, trying and failing to hide a smile.

“You do tend to scowl when he is brought up.”

Sora snorted slightly before looking back out to the garden, sighing as she picked up another needle. “Did you know one of my uncles refused to speak or acknowledge me? He thought of me as nothing but a bastard. I am one, technically, but my grandparents didn’t care.” She looked back before saying, “But my uncle, despite never speaking to me, was always sure for me to know that I was an outcast, a half breed.”

Thor swallowed heavily. “And you think Odin will see my child as that.”

“He called Jane a goat. So yes, I do believe he would. Maybe not out loud, but he would always on some level see his grandchild as slightly lesser.” She sighed before looking out and saying, “My grandfather was proud to do the Soren duty. And I am proud of my family history. But no king has clean hands, Thor. And he left the Tesseract with a wooden box and a family’s honor as protection.”

He didn’t answer. “I heard once that growing up means seeing the flaws in your parents.” And if nothing else, his own impending fatherhood had caused Thor to recognize the mistakes Odin made in raising him and Loki.

“I don’t know, your mother sounds pretty damned incredible.”

Thor grinned. “That she was.”

“And a miracle worker if she was able to get you and your brother to adulthood.”

Thor chuckled, looking back at her a few moments later. “Are you alright?” he asked. “With HYDRA-“

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Her voice was sharp. Sora sighed as she looked back at him. “Right now, I want to focus on you. What do you want to do?”

He took a deep breath, his eyes flickering back to the house. “I want to make sure my wife and child are safe, that the people I care for are safe,” he said simply. “And if HYDRA is alive, knowing what they had done to people here, to you… I do not want Jane alone.”

Sora nodded simply, and Thor pretended he did not notice her flinch at the mention of HYDRA. “So while you are not with Jane, I will be. We can make it work. She and the baby will be safe.”

Thor sighed in relief. “I trust you,” he said quietly. “And I trust you with Jane and the baby.”

The half-Asgardian only smiled, looking back down at the quilt. “And that, perhaps,” she said. “Means more than you trusting me with your life.”

It did. Thor didn’t answer after that. He leaned in the chair, still holding Mjolnir, watching for any signs of an incoming attack.

None came. But Sora sat with him the entire time, sewing the quilt meant for his son. Not a single drop of rain came down that night.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time moves on. Things fall apart. People come together.

By mid-June, Jane was about one hundred and ten percent done with being constantly under guard.

She understood why Thor was worried. The fall of SHIELD meant everyone was in more danger than ever. And HYDRA’s rise meant that there were people who genuinely had the means to go after Avengers and their loved ones. They’d tried to murder Captain Rogers in the hospital. Clint Barton was still missing after the fall of SHIELD. Banner had gone to ground to keep out of everything. They were trying to pull themselves together, but it was easier said than done.

“What are we going to do when the baby is born? Keep them under guard for the rest of their life?” Jane demanded, sighing as she sat on the seat of the tube.

Sora shrugged where she stood next to Jane. “We haven’t thought that far ahead,” she admitted, her eyes flickering as she looked around the tube car. “Thor said he’s talking with Stark about what the plan is. That’s half the reason he went to New York now.”

Jane only nodded, wincing when the baby kicked again. “We need to start thinking about that,” she pointed out. “I’m due in less than eight weeks.” And this was the first time Thor had left. What happened when he had to go to Asgard, on a mission?

“And we’ll have a plan ready by then,” Sora promised.

“And then for the next however so years?”

The half-Asgardian hesitated before moving and sitting next to her. “Eventually they’ll be able to defend themselves,” Sora pointed out.

“While they’re little it’s not like they’ll be away from me or Thor most of the time,” Jane admitted. But she hated the fact that they would have to worry about their child’s safety forever. They would always be a target because of Thor, and she knew that he was having trouble accepting that.

She knew that theoretically, things would begin to calm down. They were still trying to find HYDRA cells. They were trying to find HYDRA moles. And when those were out in the open, when they had less resources, Jane would be safer. The baby would be safer.

But it was additional stress that Jane and Thor knew they didn’t need right now.

“Thor mentioned you guys finished the nursery?” Sora asked casually, pulling out her phone and typing off a text to Darcy.

“Nice conversation change.” Jane did grin though as she said, “Yeah, we did. Galaxy inspired theme with little Norse elements where we could. It looks good. You finish that quilt yet?”

“Only one square to finish.” Sora gave a sheepish laugh. “I’m still debating on what to put in it. I’m leaning more towards something related to you, there’s enough Asgardian and Norse imagery on it. I added Foster in runes to the one length of it. Maybe stars in that corner.”

“That would be nice.” Her stomach was at a point where she couldn’t bend over without falling. Her due date was closer than ever. And she just wanted everything to be completely ready.

The train stopped at the station nearest the apartment. Sora lead the way off the car but kept close to Jane the entire walk. She’d taken to heart her promise to Thor to protect Jane when he couldn’t. And Sora at least understood pregnancy frustrations from her own pregnancy with Ingrid, decades ago.

Jane was grateful for it. She truly was. But it was exhausting to never be alone.

“We should stop and grab alcohol for Darcy,” Sora mentioned when they made their way up the steps onto the street. “Alcohol always helps after a breakup.”

Jane sighed. “I know that she and Ian were having problems, I didn’t think it was that bad.”

“They’ve been having a few more fights. The honeymoon phase ended. Darcy wants to go back to the States eventually, Ian doesn’t want to leave London, his mother apparently doesn’t like that he’s dating an American…” Sora shrugged. “It happens with everyone. Especially in the first year or two of relationships.”

“I don’t know, Thor and I are apparently still pretty lovey dovey.” At least according to everyone, including Jane’s own mother. Her relationship with Donald hadn’t been a good scale to base her relationships on.

“You’re both realistic though. You’ve had tough conversations. You’ve had bad experiences.” She shook her head before saying, “Honeymoon stage is where the rose-colored glasses you wear make you see red flags as just flags. That’s different from a healthy relationship that happens to have a high speed.”

Sometimes, it was nice to have someone who at least somewhat understood how someone with Thor’s life span would view their speed of relationship.

“You do have more experience in that than I do. Donald was the only person I dated before Thor.”

Sora smiled quietly. “I had Jan. He was my first. There were occasional lovers over the years. Grace and I were together…” She squinted her eyes, mouthing to herself. “About thirteen, fourteen years. From when we met at Woodstock to her death.”

“You went to Woodstock?” Jane asked, staring at her. That was the more surprising part of that sentence. Darcy had been claiming her bi-sense had been going off with Sora for months.

“I did.” Sora smirked before admitting, “I remember about half of it.”

Jane laughed. “Darcy will not stop interrogating you about it if she ever finds out you were there.”

“Hence why I never intend for her to find out. There’s not much to tell. I listened to music, I took some LSD, and I made out with a very pretty redhead.”

Ten minutes later, with a bottle of alcohol in Sora’s hand, the half-Asgardian lead the way up the stairs to the apartment. Jane’s feet were starting to kill her, and she briefly wondered if the large bowl that she’d used for occasional foot baths when she’d still lived there with Thor was still there. Either way, her shoes were going off the second they got there, and her feet were going up.

Jane grunted slightly when she ran into Sora, who was staring at the door. “Sora?”

Sora didn’t respond, taking a deep breath. Jane realized what had spooked her a moment later; the door was slightly open, enough that was noticeable.

“You didn’t leave it open, did you?” Jane asked, knowing that someone it was a stupid question.

“We do sometimes if we’re getting groceries,” Sora replied, her eyes narrowing. “But… but if one of us is, we text the other. See if we need anything. This…” She shook her head. “Go outside. Now.” Her hand moved around the neck of the bottle, as if she intended to use it as a club.

It was then that she heard the click of a gun, and Sora moved, throwing herself between Jane and whoever was behind her.

Jane pushed the door of the apartment open, barely making it out of the way as Sora came stumbling through, fighting off a blonde woman who appeared familiar. That thought was distracted when the gun went off and Sora cried out in pain. She kicked the blonde back, hard, and Jane’s stomach dropped when she realized why she was familiar.

It was Elisa. Elisa, the sweet nanny who lived across the street, who’d never been anything but warm and polite. Elisa, who looked surprised to see her but threw that surprise away and focused on her goal – which was clearly hurting them.

And she’d just shot Sora. She had a gun. She was threatening them. And it was more than obvious that Elisa was an enemy, if not HYDRA.

“Jane, get in the bedroom! Go!” Sora shouted, grunting as she lunged towards Elisa, tackling her and using the bottle of vodka as a club, slamming it into her head.

Jane bolted to the bedroom Sora now occupied, her and Thor’s old bedroom. The lock clicked behind her, and she grabbed onto the dresser, struggling to get her breathing down. Jane flinched when she heard a crash. Something jumped under her skin, her baby kicking from the inside, sensing the stress of what was happening.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, baby,” Jane promised, trying to keep her voice calm. Doctor McCoy had said that stress was not a good thing at this time in the pregnancy, and she could not risk her child for anything.

There was more shouting. More voices, another woman’s voice that she didn’t recognize, Sora shouting. The sounds of furniture smashing and valuables shattering. A knock hit the door, and Jane couldn’t hide her gasp.

“Jane, do you really want to make this harder for yourself?” Jane’s stomach clenched when she heard Elisa’s voice, sounding almost smug. “Just unlock the door. Both Darcy and Sora will live. So will you and the baby.”

“Yeah, not happening,” Jane snapped, trying to find something in Sora’s room that could be used as a weapon. It was Sora’s room, there had to be something.

“You’re making it harder for yourself.”

“And harder for you,” Jane pointed out, voice hard. “That means it’s worth it.”

It was then Elisa screamed in pain. Something thud against the door, and Jane heard what suspiciously sounded like someone collapsed on the floor, babbling from shock. Jane could have cried when she realized why she heard electricity behind the door. Taking the chance, she threw it open, her jaw almost dropping when she saw who her rescuer was.

Darcy stood above Elisa, clearly livid, her hair messy and a bandana around her throat. “That’s for tying me up and throwing me into the bathtub, you bitch!” she yelled. She kicked Elisa in the ribs, the blond only giving a moan. “And that’s for attacking my friends!”

“Oh my god, Darcy!” Jane lunged forward, hugging her tightly. “Are you okay!?”

“Yeah, I’m –“ Darcy flinched when she heard the sound of something crashing in the background. “I’m good.” She kicked Elisa in the head again. “They didn’t hurt me, but dammit, Jane, you really thought I would  _text_  if I broke up with Ian?!”

“Pregnancy brain?” Jane suggested, though she was struggling to get her heart rate under control. She put a hand on her stomach, trying to keep calm. Stress could cause preterm labor. That was not a good thing. “Plus, your phone texted Sora, so…”

“Whatever, we’ll discuss bullshit like that later. Where’s Thor?” Darcy asked, grabbing a gun from Sora’s bedside table. She knew that there had been something in there.

“The States, talking with Stark about a few things,” Jane explained, hearing fighting in the living room. “We need to get out of here.”

Darcy nodded, moving in front of her and leading the way to the door, shouting when a dark-haired girl was thrown in front of them. Darcy scrambled back, keep herself between Jane and the intruder. The girl in black ignored them both and moved forward sharply, throwing herself at Sora.

“Holy shit, she can fight,” Darcy muttered, staring blankly when she saw the fight between the two.

The thing that troubled Jane the most was the fact that the dark-haired girl was fighting on an even field with Sora. She matched her blow for blow. The dark-haired girl didn’t even wince at a punch that Jane was sure would have knocked out a normal human.

Darcy grabbed Jane’s arm, tugging her back and trying to get her to the door. “Okay, we’ve gotta get out of here, Sora can take care of herself-“ Darcy yelped when she jumped back, seeing someone in the doorway.

A man, tall, lithe, and clearly dangerous, stood in the doorway, watching the fight between Sora and the dark-haired girl almost critically. In his gloved hands he held a long, silver staff with engravings everywhere. With a jolt, Jane recognized them as Asgardian runes. There was a mix of amusement and pride on his face as he watched Sora and the girl in black fight, chuckling when Sora kicked the interloper over the couch and into the wall, breaking the table underneath her.

“Shit,” Darcy said, her eyes wide.

Jane watched as the man tugged a glove off and touched the staff. Darcy yelped as she moved back, her eyes widening when she saw the staff glow orange and the man stiffen briefly. A moment later, he opened his eyes, the irises briefly flashing orange.

“ _Fuck_ ,” Darcy muttered.

He moved towards Sora a moment later, and Sora barely had time to react before she was slammed in the face with the end of the staff.

Sora moved back up to her feet, grabbing a coffee table to block off the blow. She scrambled back to her feet, her eyes wide as she grabbed a chair and tore off two legs, using them as batons almost. One baton fell a moment later, and Sora shouted as she tried to kick the staff out of his hands. Instead, he grabbed her leg and threw her towards the glass doors of the balcony.

“Jane, we’ve got to go,” Darcy said, her voice urgent as she tugged on her arm.

“We can’t leave her!” Jane snapped. She jumped when she saw the dark-haired girl back on her feet. But she was almost frozen, staring in what appeared to be fear at the man fighting Sora. It wasn’t fear of him though. It was fear for him.

The fight was over barely a minute later. The man and Sora had gotten onto the balcony now, and Sora aimed a kick at his shoulder. Instead, he moved forward, his hand going around her throat as he smirked and dove forward, sending them over the ledge of the balcony, Sora underneath him.

The sound of a loud crash, glass breaking, a car alarm, and Jane’s scream came a moment later.

“Sora!” Jane shouted.

“Anthony!” The dark-haired girl’s eyes were wide as she followed immediately, jumping off of the balcony.

Jane and Darcy moved to the balcony, and Jane shook her head as she saw the man already on his feet, the girl in black – who seemed to have landed on her feet - moving to him to help him up. He shrugged her arm off, and looked back at Sora, unconscious on the top of a broken car. He glared up at Jane and Darcy before smirking and pulling Sora into his arms from the top of the car, throwing her into the back of a van that had parked in front.

He only saluted them with a smile before getting in, and Jane was already calling for help the second that it sped away. “Jane?” Thor answered. “Is something wrong? Are you alright? The baby?”

Jane had her phone to her ear, nearly crying in relief when Thor answered. “Thor,” she said, her voice steady. “HYDRA attacked us, Darcy and I are fine, the baby’s fine, but they took Sora.”

Thor took a deep breath over the phone, and Jane briefly wondered if there was now a thunderstorm over New York.

“I’m on my way to you,” Thor said. There was a pause as someone seemed to say something to Thor on his end. Thor added, “Stark will be joining us. Get your mother, get Selvig, and get to Norway, to Randolph’s house. Sora and I have spoken with him if something were to happen, we have plans for this. Stark says there is a jet in London that will be ready for you.”

Darcy had her own phone to her ear. “Hey, Jill, so we need to run. Like now. Sora’s been kidnapped. I know! I thought I would be the first one kidnapped!”

Jane tried to keep her temper under control, and she said, “We’ve got to get her back, Thor.”

“We will.” Jane could have sworn she heard the crack of thunder on the other end of the phone. “And HYDRA will regret deciding to make any one of you a target.”

She didn’t have the heart to tell him that there was no way that this would be the last time she or the baby were targeted. Jane was made of stronger stuff than that.

* * *

 

It had been a long few months.

In the aftermath of SHIELD’s fall, Fury’s supposed death, and everything else, Sigyn had gone to ground the best she could with the people she needed to protect. She’d been forced to kill a few HYDRA agents who emerged from the shadows with offers she immediately refused.

And then Fury himself, clearly not dead, had shown up and offered her a safe place. She was desperate, so she had followed. The other choice was letting Thor in on secrets she was not ready just yet to share.

That day would come. But she would hold it back as long as she could.

Relief was not strong enough to describe how she felt when she realized that Fury had taken them to a vineyard in the rural parts of Italy and not to some tiny little safehouse in the middle of nowhere. She was not keen to share chambers with Nick Fury. And the vineyard was admittedly gorgeous.

She’d met Val de Fontaine multiple times, and she was now one of the few surviving members of the World Security Council. And from the look on her face, Val de Fontaine was just as relieved to see that Nick Fury survived HYDRA as she was.

Sigyn doubted that she would ever get a full answer as to what Val and Fury’s relationship was, but she knew better than anyone that some secrets were better left undiscovered.

And then, in the middle of a June day, while sitting next to the pool, listening to children laugh and play in the swimming pool, Sigyn’s phone vibrated.

She half jumped when it vibrated, frowning as she tugged down her sunglasses. Beyond a few texted conversations and a phone call directly after the Triskelion where they assured one another the other was safe and fine, there had been very little contact, and no face-to-face contact.

If Thor was contacting her now, then something was deeply wrong.

“People have your number?” Fury asked underneath an umbrella.

Val, beautiful with a weathered face and two-tone eyes, rolled her eyes, hitting Nick’s arm gently. “Be nice, Nick.” She readjusted her hat. “You wonder why no one likes you.”

“I’m always nice, Contessa.”

“You two clearly need to get remarried.” Sigyn frowned as she swiped her screen, putting her phone to her ear. “Thor?” she asked, wincing when she heard how staticky the call was. “Thor, what’s going on?”

“HYDRA has taken Sora.”

Sigyn’s heart nearly stopped. She knew that tone of voice. The last time she’d heard it, they’d been in a battle against Lorelei, and there’d been a moment where they thought that Loki was dead at Thor’s hand. She had never hoped to hear that tone again.

But there it was, once again, and she knew that this was serious.

“What about Jane and Darcy? Selvig, Jill?” Sigyn asked, taking a deep breath. “Thor, is everyone else alright? What happened?”

Val sat up where she was on the lounge chair, frowning deeply as she exchanged a look with Nick Fury. Fury watched Sigyn through his one eye, studying every bit of her carefully. She knew that her face was openly worried and terrified. She didn’t care to hide it, not when she could tell that Thor was barely holding onto his temper.

“Jane was the primary target, Darcy was the bait. Elisa, our neighbor, is HYDRA and Darcy managed to knock her out. Sora was taken during the scuffle, Jane and Darcy got out. They are on their way to Norway now, to Randolph’s home.” He took a deep breath. “Sigyn. I need you on this. Please.”

“I know.” Sigyn closed her eyes. “Give me… give me some time. I will meet you there as soon as I can.”

The answer had been automatic. She hadn’t realized she’d answered in the affirmative until she’d terminated the call. Her eyes flickered to the pool, to where the sounds of laughter and splashing filled her ears. She couldn’t leave Thor to deal with this alone. But leaving now, leaving the thing that was most precious to her in the world…

Val frowned and moved forward, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Nick and I can keep everything calm here,” she promised, her voice firm. “Go.”

The Asgardian scholar swallowed before nodding slowly. “If you’re sure,” she said, looking back at Fury. “I trust you.”

Fury rolled his eye before waving his hand. “Go. He’s gonna need you on this.”

Sigyn was in the air, heading to Norway, in two hours. She only hoped that they weren’t too late.

* * *

 The plane ride from London to Oslo was the longest of Jane’s life. She and Darcy had met up with Jill at the airport. Her mother had somehow managed to grab Nanna, and Jane almost cried out of relief. Pregnancy hormones were enough to make her cry over her cat's safety. A car was waiting for them at the airport, and Jane kept up her breathing, her hand on her stomach. The baby was still kicking. That was the only relief she had, knowing that her and Thor’s child was safe.

Thor was convinced that it was a boy. Doctor McCoy knew, but she was the only one. Both Thor and Jane wanted to be surprised. But Thor had been slipping, call the baby him or he. In the end, Jane didn’t care. If the baby was a he, her son kicking was the only relief Jane had right now.

When the car arrived at Randolph’s house, Thor was waiting outside on the porch. He was already moving to the car when it parked, and Jane had barely managed to get her seatbelt on when Thor literally ripped the door off its hinges.

Jill shouted in surprise, Nanna jumped from Jill's lap to flee under Randolph's porch, Darcy yelped, “Holy shit!” Jane paid neither any attention as she moved forward, hugging Thor tightly.

For a few moments, neither said anything. Jane held onto her husband, burying her face in his chest, and Thor held onto her. He was back in his armor, cape billowing in the slight breeze around them. Her baby kicked in that moment, and Jane reached out, grabbing Thor’s hand and moving it down, knowing that he would need to feel that kick, the reassurance that they were alright.

“We’re alright,” Jane assured him, taking a deep breath as she looked back at him. Her hands went to his face, cupping his cheeks. “We’re alright. We’re okay, Thor.”

“Both of you?” Thor asked, looking back down at her. “I’m sorry, I never should have left you-“

“You were going there to talk about our safety. Stop it. I’m okay.” She sighed as she looked back over at her mom and Darcy, raising an eyebrow when she saw the car door now a dozen feet away. The driver looked faintly horrified.

“Stark will pay for it,” Thor promised, sighing as he kept his hand on her back.

Jane sighed as she followed him up the stairs of the porch. Randolph looked up when they came over, and she noticed that he seemed openly worried. Considering how blasé he’d been the last time they’d met, the fact that he was openly showing how worried he was about Sora was sobering.

Jill kept close to Jane, though her mothering instincts seemed to stick with Darcy as well. She was handling her hostage-taking fairly well. She was going to need that alcohol Sora had bought and hit Elisa over the head with. At least it wasn’t expensive vodka.

“Is Tony coming?” Jane asked, taking a seat at the table. Thor’s hand moved to her shoulder, squeezing it, and Jane sighed, her hand reaching up to take his.

“He was going to stop in London, speak with Elisa. Sigyn is on her way as well.” He gestured to his phone on the table. “Natasha is on speakerphone.”

“Hey,” Nat’s voice came. She'd never met Natasha in person before, but she had her number out of what Natasha called necessity, considering her relationship with Thor, if only because Thor always forgot his phone and Jane was always with Thor. Thor spoke highly of her however, and that was enough for Jane. Natasha seemed to have thought the same thing. “I wish we could have met in person before this, but I have a nineteen-year-old trying and failing to integrate herself into South African high society and she needs to be babysat. Did you like your wedding present?”

Natasha and Clint Barton had gone together on a tasteful and practical plating set. And that first sentence was about everything Jane expected from her.

“Um, yeah, I loved it. The pattern was really pretty.” Jane took a deep breath, struggling to keep her breathing under control. “Sorry, it’s been a day. I don’t think the baby likes flying.”

“It’s okay. You’ve been through a lot.” Her voice was understanding. Gentle. “Just tell me about what happened. What you remember, who was there. Anything you remember. Even if it seems unimportant, it could be useful.”

"Darcy saw them more than I did." Jane took a seat at the table, looking back at Darcy.

Her intern sat down across from her, sighing as she looked back over at Jane. “Um, it was Elisa and then two other people. This chick, she was like my age, and then a guy with a silver staff thingy…” Darcy listed.

Darcy jumped a mile at the sound of shattering glass, and Mjolnir flew to Thor’s hand in a second. Jane looked sharply over towards the door, and saw Randolph staring blankly at Darcy, a look of growing horror on his face. Something Darcy said had been important. And she thought it was the last one, the silver staff that she’d recognized as carved with Asgardian runes.

“What type of staff was it?” Randolph asked sharply, looking between them.

“Um, long, silver, it had runes on it. They were glowing orange…” Darcy mentioned, looking back at Jane. “Blade at the end?”

Jane took a deep breath, looking back over at Thor. “It had runes on it, Asgardian runes.”

Thor’s eyes widened with recognition, and he looked sharply over at Randolph. “Tell me it’s not what I think it is,” he said, his voice a low warning. Thunder shook the woods behind them. “You told me it was hidden.”

Randolph closed his eyes. “He told me they were hiding it.”

“Who told you?” Thor demanded. His grip on Mjolnir tightened.

“Someone I trusted with it. And it _was_ hidden up until the aftermath of Greenwich. The… the SHIELD team who helped deal with the Norse Pagans took it after they recovered it,” Randolph explained, sighing as he rubbed a hand through his hair. “They took the staff with them after they recovered it in Ireland. And they said that they were putting it on ice.”

“What are you both talking about?” Jill demanded. Jane was surprised by the tone of her mother’s voice, and shot her a look.

“The weapon the Berserker Army came with,” Randolph explained, closing his eyes. “It increases the strength and power of the user… at the cost of bringing up every bit of anger inside of them. When I stayed, I broke it into three pieces. Hid it.”

“And then the Norse Pagans found it,” Thor said, frowning as he shook his head. “I was told to stay out of it when it happened-“

“With good reason, they wanted to kill you,” Natasha pointed out over the phone. Jane decided then and there that she liked Natasha. She was clearly logical. Thor needed more of those people in his life.

“And now it is in HYDRA’s hands,” Thor pointed out. “How did that happen?”

“If the SHIELD team took that with them, then it would have been put in the Fridge,” Natasha explained. “It’s where they keep everything that they don’t want others to touch. And the Fridge? Raided in the two days after the uprising.”

Randolph looked up at the sky, taking a deep breath. “So this man, whoever he is, has it. And he can clearly use it.”

“But why bring that if they were going after me?” Jane asked. “I can barely walk right now, let alone fight. They wouldn’t need anything.”

“They had three people, we had three people,” Darcy pointed out. “I mean, Elisa surprised me when she asked for an egg. And then the other two came in. I didn’t hear much, I was tied up in the bath tub. Maybe they were being prepared?”

“Maybe they just accepted getting Sora when they realized that she was at least enhanced,” Jill suggested. She sat down between Darcy and Jane, sighing as she looked back over at her daughter.

“Either way, I do not intend to allow her to remain there much longer,” Thor said firmly.

It was then that it clicked. The fact that they’d seemed almost ready for Sora, with an operative that could fight her hand-to-hand, and as Asgardian weapon ready as back up. The way that Elisa had been surprised to see her. How Darcy hadn’t known that she would be with Sora, that Jane was coming at all. Why Sora had been texted and not her.

Jane froze before looking back over at Thor. “They weren’t after me,” she said, her voice steady. “Think about this. Darcy didn’t text me. She texted Sora. I just happened to be with her. Darcy didn’t know that you were out of the country. Thor, they weren’t after me.”

Thor looked sharply down at her, and the realization came a moment later. “Sora was the target.”

“They wanted Sora,” Randolph said. “But for what?”

The sound of distant engines came before an answer to Randolph’s question. Thor moved to his feet, Mjolnir still in his hand. His shoulders visibly slumped in relief when a familiar set of armor appeared in the sky, landing in the grass. The suit opened, and Tony Stark himself walked out.

“Sorry I’m late, I paid a visit to the lady that Darcy knocked out.” He looked back over at Darcy before saying, “Remind me to send you the new taser I’m working on.” Darcy’s eyes lit up, and Tony looked back to Thor before explaining, “She’s not saying anything. But we’re looking into her history and she was connected directly to SHIELD and some moles in MI6.”

“So she was simply a monitor,” Thor said simply.

“Yeah, she is. Or, was. We took a cyanide capsule out from her teeth, so she’ll be with us for a while.” Tony sat down, pausing as he looked back over at the phone. “That Nat? I sent you some intel on Klaue and Esme Visser. She’s dangerous, but she knows trafficking. Might help.”

“Thanks, Stark.” Natasha sighed over the phone. “Good luck, guys. If there’s anything else I can do… let me know. But look at where Elisa’s SHIELD connections were. It might help.”

“Thank you.” Thor looked back down before saying, “I hope your search is just as fruitful, my friend.”

Silence reigned for a few moments. “Thanks.” Natasha hung up a moment later. Thor only hoped that she was close to finding where Barton was being held. He was a good man and a brothers-in-arms.

“Sorry, you made her feel things,” Tony deadpanned.

Jane shook her head, wincing. “I think I need to go lay down,” she mentioned, sighing as she looked back over at Randolph. “You have anything else on the Berserker Staff? I can do some research.”

“Of course.” Randolph gestured for her to follow, and Jane squeezed Thor’s hand before following him.

Jill wrapped an arm around Darcy. “C’mon. I’m gonna be Mom for a while, you need some comfort food,” she mentioned. It might have been a sign of how truly tired Darcy was that she didn’t protest too much. Maybe the promise of a Stark Industries taser was helping.

When they were left alone, Thor sighed and turned to look at Stark. “Thank you for coming,” he said quietly.

Tony waved his hand. “The sooner these assholes realize going after our people is a bad idea, the better. Besides, expectant dads have to stick together, right?”

“Of course.” Thor sighed before saying, “So it is us. The Captain remains on his own hunt?”

“Last I heard, exploring an old mine HYDRA was using in the middle of South America. We’re on our own.”

“The three of us are alone, at least.” Thor looked up sharply and gave a quiet smile when he saw Sigyn moved up the stairs of the porch with a bag on her back. She smiled and tilted her head. “You thought I’d let you run into this on your own?”

“Of course not,” Thor assured her, unable to keep a grin off of his face. “I merely assumed you would show up at the most dramatic moment possible.”

Sigyn rolled her eyes. “You’re confusing me with your brother.” She set the bag on the table before pulling out a familiar crossbow. “I haven’t used it for a long while,” she admitted, looking back over.

“A crossbow?” Tony looked faintly unimpressed. “Really?”

“He uses a hammer, and you’re going to give me shit about my crossbow?”

“Wait, who are you, anyway?”

Thor laughed. “Tony Stark, meet Sigyn Tyrsdottir, a scholar of Asgard and a dear friend. Sigyn, meet Tony Stark, an Avenger and a brother-in-arms.”

A look of horror crossed Tony’s face. “Wait. Sigyn? As in Loki’s girlfriend? As in Loki slept with you?”

Sigyn closed her eyes, looking to the sky. “Asgard give me strength. Please.”

“No, I’m genuinely curious. You seem normal. And like… nice. Except the crossbow thing. What, have a thing for megalomaniacs?”

“Do you have an off switch?”

Thor truly hoped that they could get through this without one of them killing each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Contessa Val de Fontaine** – Jane Seymour  
>  The identities of the Girl in Black and the man with the staff will be revealed later. The identity of the former is a spoiler for later, and the man with the staff will be revealed later.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor, Tony, and Sigyn team up. Sora drowns, then swims.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, this story keeps lengthening. Fingers crossed it'll actually end at 11, but I promise nothing. Fingers crossed. I planned literally none of this chapter, but I love what happened with it.
> 
> Happy Steve Rogers' birthday in advanced for everyone. I'll be spending it with my feet in my dogs' kiddie pool, my laptop on my lap, and with a few beers. Hopefully I can get Chapter 8 up soon, because fun stuff happens after that.

Her back was killing her.

The last thing she remembered was fighting in her own damned apartment. Elisa had a gun. She’d been shot in the arm. Jane was hiding in her room. They didn’t know where Darcy was. The dark-haired girl with Elisa had been strong and fast enough to match her move for move.

And then the bastard with the silver staff had tackled her out of the window and over the balcony. Right onto a damned car. No wonder she was in pain.

Sora grit her teeth as she opened her eyes. She was in an interrogation room of sorts, her hands restrained by heavily fortified shackles. Her ankles were chained as well, and her cardigan had been taken off. Bandages rested at the crook of her elbow, and she recognized them as both puncture and injection wounds.

“Shit,” Sora muttered.

It took a few moments to fight back the terror and panic she felt. She was once again in HYDRA captivity. Part of her felt like throwing up. The other felt like ramming her head into the table until she passed out and never woke up again. Either way would be better than being a lab rat.

But then Sora remembered what was different about this time. Jane and Darcy had seen her taken. She had very little doubt that Thor would come for her. She knew what she was, and she knew what her abilities were. She was in a far better position than she’d been while she’d been in Reinhardt’s captivity.

No amount of logical reassurances could stop the building anxiety in her chest, however.

It was in that moment that the door opened. The man with the silver staff came in the room, the staff itself now crossed over his back. His hands were clad with the same leather gloves he’d had on before. He set it down on the table gently, only inches away from Sora’s restrained hands.

The man shot her a charming smile, though there was no light behind his eyes. Only calculation, cold arithmetic to determine her threat level. “Sora Larsen,” he hummed, sitting down at the table and dropping the file. “Or do you prefer the name Astrid Soren?”

She did not give a reaction, merely raising an eyebrow. “Congratulations. You found the files your own organization had on me. Very impressive.”

He laughed. “Oh, we’ve been keeping an eye on you for a long while. We like to keep our eyes peeled for talent, and you…” He smiled as he looked her over. “You have some special gifts.”

“Take me out of the chains and I can show you just how gifted I am.”

“And there would be the defiance that survived Reinhardt’s lab.” She couldn’t hold back the slight stiffening of her spine at the mention of Reinhardt. She tried so hard to block out those memories, and he was bringing them back like that were nothing.

“Who are you?” Sora demanded.

He offered a hand before pausing, smirking in amusement to himself before pulling it back. “Anthony Masters. I’m a member of HYDRA. I’ve been working on a special project for a few years now, since New York. You see, my thought process was, if SHIELD can have a team… so can HYDRA.”

Masters put a file on the table in front of her, and she watched him warily before opening part of it. The shackles were lose enough she could reach them.

The first page of the file was a picture of her in Paris, unaware of the camera as she walked down the street. Her phone was to her ear, and there was a coffee cup in her hand. With a jolt, she recognized the outfit as what she’d been wearing the very day that Thor had met.

HYDRA had been watching her for months. And Thor making contact with her might have been the only thing keeping this meeting from happening sooner.

“This is a recruitment,” Sora guessed.

“More or less,” he confirmed, shrugging easily. “I have a few team members. Some corresponding directly to those on the Avengers.”

“I’m assuming that the girls in the apartment correspond to two?” Sora asked, her eyes narrowing. “Is Elisa even her real name?”

“Oh, it is. Elisa’s a monitor though, not an operative. We thought it best to keep a close eye on Thor and Doctor Foster. And then she became pregnant, and well… you and Miss Lewis were still close to them.” He smiled. “We’ve heard rumors of you for a long time. And of course, Doctor Reinhardt has been looking for you since he was released from prison.”

She could have thrown up in that single instant. Reinhardt was alive. He was alive and out of prison and if this Anthony Masters could be believed, then he was still in power.

And he was looking for her.

“He does not know you’re here,” Masters assured her, chuckling as he looked back over at her. “Yet. That all depends on your cooperation with my Thunderbolt program.”

HYDRA always did love blackmail. Sora forced her heartrate down. She could not panic. She could not lose it now. She had to stay calm or else she would never get out of there. Sora was smarter and strong than the first time she’d been in HYDRA captivity. She knew her powers. She had people who knew she was gone and would come after her.

She could survive this. She just had to be strong.

Anthony stood up and picked the staff up from the table, examining it. “It’s a thing of beauty,” he mentioned. “It turns anger into an even more potent weapon.”

“I’m sure you have plenty of that,” Sora deadpanned, glaring at him.

“You heard the story of the Warrior Who Stayed, have you not?” he wondered, looking back at her with a smile. “Of course you have, with you being his daughter. With your childhood in Norway. I’m sure you could tell the story by heart.”

“You’re asking questions you know the answer to,” Sora snapped.

“That I am.” He placed the staff down, even closer, and smiled slightly. “You see, this staff? Your father’s. And it’s said that it recognizes its owner. I’m wondering if it recognizes its owner’s blood. If its power is intoxicating enough for someone half-Asgardian.”

Sora’s eyes widened. “No-“ she said, gasping when he grabbed her hand and moved it forward. “Don’t.”

“After all,” Masters explained calmly. “I’m sure you have plenty of anger in you.”

Her hand touched the staff, and Sora screamed.

* * *

 

 “Are you afraid?”

Two days after the attack in London and they finally had a lead. Though there was no actual base in Greece, there was a ship called the  _Lerna_  that was connected to different shell companies, leading into Roxxon and Kronos. Tony confirmed that both companies had ties to HYDRA, and it wasn’t hard to find the links. The  _Lerna_  was currently docked just off Santorini and had been quiet since its anchoring two weeks ago.

A spy on the inside of HYDRA, apparently a friend of Natasha’s, had confirmed that the  _Lerna_  dealt directly with powered individuals, and that if Sora was anywhere, it would be there. There was also a strong chance that other powered captives would be held prisoner onboard

An acquaintance of Tony had lent them a room in Santorini, and they were there now, watching the  _Lerna_  in the distance. Sigyn, by far the least recognizable of the three, had gone into town to find any intel she could on the ship and what they might expect in getting there.

“In Greek mythology, the hydra was often called the Hydra of Lerna,” Sigyn mentioned before leaving. “That makes me think that this is the right location.”

“And you think their people will talk if they are here?” Thor asked. He was not eager to risk Sigyn, though he knew she was more than capable of protecting herself.

Sigyn gave a dry smile. “Men with alcohol always talk, Thor.” She patted the small bag that hung against her hip. “Even more so with some extra kick behind it.”

So she’d gone, and had been away for a few hours. Thor was not worried. Sigyn was not as strong as Loki in stealth, but she knew enough that no one would realize she was there until it was too late. And she was a scholar, skilled at getting the information she needed. But then, the silence between him and Tony had become too much.

“What, of a fight?” Tony asked, giving a dry smile. “No way. It’ll be fun.”

Thor chuckled. “That’s not what I meant.”

Tony paused as he seemed to understand what Thor was speaking of. “We want to have this talk?” he asked quietly, sighing as he shook his head. He was fiddling with one of his gauntlets now, tugging it off and grabbing a small screwdriver. “Because I’ve been having it almost weekly with my therapist.”

“Why not? We are waiting here and have nothing better to do.” And Thor did not want to think about what Sora might be going through on that ship. Might as well acknowledge fears the men shared.

Tony sighed, putting the screwdriver down. “Honestly? I’m scared shitless,” he admitted simply. “I mean… we’re gonna have actual lives depending on us. But not in the normal way. Saving people, I can handle that. But being responsible for raising a kid that’s half you… that’s scary.”

“It is,” Thor admitted. He sighed as he looked back down at the distant ship. “Preparing for my own child has forced me to look at the mistakes my father made with Loki and myself.”

“How many have you found?” Tony asked.

Thor gave a sad smile. “More than enough for me to know how I want to differ than my father.”

Tony smiled dryly. “Yeah. I’ve been finding plenty of my dad’s. Pepper’s been doing the same, looking at her mom. Guess we’re both trying hard to do better than our parents.”

“I believe that is all we can do,” Thor admitted, picking up Mjolnir and setting it on the table. He moved to the edge of the balcony, looking out at the distant ship. “Though I am sure we will make our own mistakes.”

“Thanks, that’s reassuring.” Tony shook his head. “When’s Jane due?”

“Very early August.” It was hard to believe that was only about two months away. In two months, his and Jane’s child would be there in their arms. The nursery was ready. They had plans for her delivery ready. But Thor was still convinced that they weren’t completely ready. Maybe they would never be ready.

“Pep’s due October. They won’t be that far apart.” He tugged a hand through his hair. “I’m kinda glad for that. That they’re not gonna be alone. That the baby’s gonna have someone to talk to about their dad being an Avenger. You know what you’re having?”

“Not officially, but I believe it will be a boy.”

“Yeah, Pep thinks it’s a girl.” He gave a shudder. “I think a girl would be karma for everything I’ve done in my romantic life, so I’m hoping for a boy.”

Thor laughed. “Your child is lucky no matter what it is,” he assured Stark. “You will be a fine father. The fact that you care as much as you do is a sign of that.”

Tony didn’t reply for a few minutes. Thor didn’t push, instead watching the distant ship.

“Let’s make sure they know that going after our loved ones isn’t gonna fly,” Tony mentioned, his voice hard. “Because if they don’t learn now taking our friends is bad news, what’ll stop them from going after our kids someday?”

“Nothing,” Thor admitted. A very distant crack of thunder broke the silence of the night. “But they will learn soon enough what will follow should they both foolish enough to threaten our children.”

In that moment, nothing could have bonded Tony Stark and Thor Odinson more.

* * *

 

“Thor, did you just  _hammer a hole in the ship_!?”

In hindsight, maybe that was why Thor had insisted Tony carry Sigyn to the _Lerna_. They’d barely landed on the ship when Thor came down in a bolt of lightning, Mjolnir at the ready, and literally put a hole in the ship to put him in the middle of it. Tony was cursing up a storm to match the one brewing outside as he put Sigyn down inside the hole, hurrying after Thor to deal with the bulk of the HYDRA forces inside.

“Has he always been like this!?” Tony demanded, tossing Sigyn a comm. “Put it in your ear so you can hear us.”

Sigyn scoffed as she nestled it deep in her ear. “This is mild compared to some of what I’ve seen from him. Sons of Odin have to make dramatic entrances.”

“We let this ship survive and HYDRA will use it again,” Thor pointed out through the comms. “We free any prisoners here and escape, and it goes to the bottom of the sea. They are then warned of what happens when they attack those we care for.”

“Would have been nice to know the plan before, Thor,” Sigyn snapped, grunting as she hurried her way down towards where she believed the detention area was.

“Yeah, especially since I think you hit something else,” Tony admitted. He was flying around where he could through the surprisingly open mull hull area. “Like putting a hole through the bottom as well. JARVIS, how much time do we have?”

Midgard’s tech was fascinating to Sigyn, but even she was admittedly impressed with JARVIS. “The ship is taking on water. Time estimated to sinking, approximately forty-six minutes, barring any more destruction-“ There was a distant explosion before JARVIS corrected, “Thirty-nine minutes.”

“Okay!” Sigyn snapped, pausing in the doorway of a stairwell. She grit her teeth before snapping, “How about we stop the sinking of this ship until after we find Sora and the others?”

“I put my confidence in Lady Sigyn’s plan,” said the mechanical voice of Tony’s AI. Sigyn was admittedly a bit unnerved by him, but she appreciated the backup. “If you head down those stairs to the furthest level available, you’ll reach the holding cells. No life signatures detected before them, and two are inside the cells.”

“Fine, we will hold back on the destruction until you find them,” Thor snapped. “Find them quickly, Sigyn.”

“This is why I don’t miss going on adventures with you, Thor,” Sigyn muttered, rolling her eyes as she hurried as fast as she could, JARVIS guiding her in her ear.

She was down three stairwells when Stark’s sharp voice warned, “Thor, above you!”

“What’s happening?!” Sigyn demanded, her eyes widening as she looked up sharply. She could hear the familiar shouts of Thor in combat, but she forced herself to keep moving. Thor could defend himself.

“Masters has the staff, he’s fighting Thor right now, and… fuck, he’s actually on even ground with him.” Tony cursed again as he snapped, “Listen, Siggy, might want to move, I’m gonna help Thor, but Masters is a different kinda beast. If Cap was here, we might be better off, but everyone’s congregating here.”

“I just reached the detention area, give me a few minutes.” Sigyn pushed open the door, frowning when she realized that it seemed almost empty. Her heart nearly stopped when she stepped into nearly a foot of water, slowly rising. They were running out of time. They had to get the prisoners off the ship, and get themselves the hell off this ship.

“Shit,” she muttered, eyes widening as she looked around, moving into the hallway. “Sora? Sora!”

For a few moments, there was only silent, and Sigyn’s heart stopped out of fear. Someone had to be there. Someone had to be alive. Someone had to be there. And then, a voice came out.

“Hello?”

It was a female voice, but it wasn’t Sora’s. There was a hesitance to it, like they didn’t want to believe that someone might be there as a rescue. Sigyn frowned as she moved towards the voice, pausing when she saw a bruised face pressed against the bars of a window on the door. She looked older than Sora, in her late twenties perhaps, with a shock of white blond hair. And she looked understandably suspicious as she glared at Sigyn.

“You’re a prisoner?” Sigyn asked warily, keeping a hold of her crossbow.

“No, I like to do yoga in the prison cells and lock myself inside while it’s taking on water.” There was an accent to her voice that Sigyn couldn’t place. She would have guessed eastern European. The blonde shot her a look before saying, “Yes, I’m a prisoner here. Who are you?”

“My name is Sigyn.” Sigyn moved to the door before wrapping her hand around the handle and pulling it hard. The door came off its hinges, and Sigyn dropped it into the water. “I’m looking for someone who was brought in a few days ago. Blonde, feisty, goes by Sora?”

“The half Asgardian?” The blonde seemed to be taking everything in stride, perhaps too grateful for rescue to question too much. “She’s not down here. She’s in the labs. The psychopath been working on her for a few hours, up in the examination rooms.”

“Great.” Sigyn shook her head before asking, “Do I get your name?”

The woman hesitated before saying, “Dimitria. Dimitria Kravinoff.”

“Are you gifted?”

There was the briefest moment of hesitation as Dimitria nodded. Sigyn’s eyebrow rose when her short, white blond hair turned long and dark before her eyes. “A shapeshifter,” Dimitria confirmed simply when her hair changed back. “He thought I would be useful for subterfuge.”

“I can see why,” Sigyn muttered. “How many others are there?”

“Just Donnie.” Her eyes widened. “Oh my god, Donnie.” Dimitria hurried down the hall. Sigyn followed, keeping closely by in case of any guards. “Donnie? Are you awake?” Dimitria demanded when they reached a door at the far end of the hall.

“Yeah.” The voice was weak and tired, but there. “I’m awake. We getting out?”

“Yes, we are,” Dimitria promised. She shot Sigyn a grateful look when the Asgardian stepped forward and pulled the door off its hinges. The water at their feet was almost a foot and a half now, though Dimitria seemed to realize they were running out of time as she hurried in to Donnie. “C’mon, Donnie, we need togo.” 

Sigyn’s stomach dropped when she saw how young the boy in the cell was. He couldn’t be older than twenty. There were bruises on his face and temples, and he winced at the light. “The ship’s taking on water,” he said, wincing as he stood up, nearly collapsing

“Which means we need to move, now,” Sigyn said firmly. She looked back over at Donnie before asking, “Can you walk?”

“I’ll keep him moving if you can keep the assholes off our back,” Dimitria promised, sighing as she moved Donnie’s arm over her shoulder. “C’mon, kid, we’re getting you out of here.”

Donnie gave a dazed nod. Dimitria shot Sigyn a pleading look, to which the Asgardian only nodded. She tightened her grip on her crossbow. They were running out of time, and they still had to find Sora.

She heard the sounds of fighting and crashing above and hoped that Thor and Tony could keep from sinking the ship long enough for them to escape.

* * *

 

Sora had a plan.

The first time around with her escape from HYDRA, she had played ill. Men were easily fooled by a woman pretending to sob in pain. But this was different. The one guarding her was a woman, one who had taken her in a one-on-one fight. And Masters was a psychopath who was very clearly convinced that she could be corrupted.

When she heard the distant explosions and the rocking of the ship, Sora knew that it was time.

Masters had spent a lot of resources taking her. He had gotten his hands on a staff that had been buried in Central America. He would not leave without her, not when he thought that he could easily drag her out while she was unconscious.

So Sora waited, her eyes closed, her head lolled back. She just hoped that it would be the girl and not Masters. The girl was younger, more subservient. She could be taken down far more easily.

And she was frankly eager to hit something.

It didn’t take long. Barely ten minutes after the sounds of a fight started, the door burst open. A female voice was shouting orders to the skeleton crew. Get the two assets from the holding cells. Move the container with the big guy out of the main area and onto the sub. Get everyone out.

This was her chance.

“Shit, fuck, shit,” the girl in black hissed, hurrying into the room. Sora played unconscious, her head lolling. “Okay, stay asleep, we have to get out of here-“

The second the restraints were off, Sora acted.

Her eyes snapped open, and she grabbed the brunette’s arm, trying to snap it back. The girl in black rolled with it, twisting with her arm and rolling over the table, her foot snapping back into Sora’s cheek. Sora cried out, gasping before grabbing the girl’s leather jacket and throwing her as hard as she could into the wall, using the anger and frustration at being stuck in this cell again.

The girl went clear across the interrogation room, hitting the door with a hard snap. She groaned slightly, rolling onto her stomach as she struggled to stand up. The brunette girl went back down hard, groaning softly.

For a moment, Sora stepped forward, tempted to grab and snap her neck. One less HYDRA agent would be better for everyone.

But that girl had said that they had to get out of there. Sora blinked back the anger, the rage, the pain, and took a deep breath. It was then she heard the distinct sound of static in the air, the hallmarks of a storm she would know anywhere.

She heard the distant sounds of a fight. Without hesitation, Sora ran towards them.

* * *

 

Masters was dangerous. He would have been dangerous to Natasha or Barton or the Captain, or Stark outside of the suit. Thor recognized a warrior when he fought one, and Masters was by far one of the best warriors he’d ever faced, Asgardian or not.

With the Berserker staff, however, Masters was a genuine threat to even him.

Thor grunted as he used Mjolnir to block a blow. Masters had nearly stabbed him several times there. He understood Asgardian physiology, enough that he was a true threat.

Stark was flying around, trying to take down the HYDRA agents that he could while shouting directions to Sigyn. She hadn’t found Sora in the detention center. Thor grit his teeth when he realized they did not know where Sora was, but he did not let his anger get the best of him.

Instead, he focused every protective instinct he could, grunting as he hit the berserker staff with Mjolnir. It was a lucky blow, knocking it out of Master’s hands and sending him stumbling back.

The staff cluttered to a stop down on a cat walk below both Thor and Masters. Masters moved to jump after it, but a blond form jumped from a catwalk above them both, grunting as they landed hard on their feet and rolling towards the staff, looking up sharply and giving a brutal smile as Masters landed on his feet across from her.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Sora grabbed onto the staff with her bare hand. She cried out briefly, her eyes squeezing shut. The runes glowed orange for a moment before almost calming.

When Sora’s eyes opened, they glowed the same orange, and even Thor briefly feared the look on her face as she caught sight of Masters.

Sora moved into a fight a moment later, shouting out as she slammed the end of the staff into Masters’ knee. He rolled with the blow, grunting as he tried to take the staff from her, pulling her close briefly with a smile. Thor grunted when a bullet glanced against his arm, glaring at the HYDRA agent who dared to try and shoot him with a simple gun before throwing Mjolnir toward him.

“I told you. The power is intoxicating,” Masters said with a smirk to Sora.

Sora snarled and rammed her head forward, hitting his skull head-on. She swung the staff back and moved into another attack, while Thor landed nearby, watching warily. He knew better than to get in her way right now, but if she went too far, he had every intention of stopping her.

But Thor also knew Sora well enough to realize that this was something she had to do alone. So instead of interfering, Thor focused on protecting Sora’s back and taking out the soldiers he could. Some were moving towards a large shipping container that seemed to almost vibrate. Thor thought he briefly heard a roar come from it, though he might have been mistaking it with the ship slowly sinking.

Masters cried out in genuine pain as the staff slammed into his shoulder, slicing through Kevlar and flesh like it was nothing. He rolled back, groaning in pain. Sora was breathing heavily. She flipped the staff so that the blade was pointing towards his neck, clear rage in her eyes.

“You were the one who said I had a lot of anger in me,” she said, her voice icy calm. “You were right.”

“You’ll find I often am.” He gave a brutal smile before asking, “But I wonder if it will corrupt you as it did others? Remember, girl. You won today because I let you.”

Masters struggled back to his feet, his arm hanging uselessly at his side. He tugged something small from his belt, clicking it on before tossing it towards Sora.

Thor knew a grenade when he saw it. He dove down to her her, grabbing her and sending them flying off the catwalk level and down onto the main shipping floor. Sora grunted, groaning as she rolled out of Thor’s arms, struggling to move back to her feet out of the nearly two feet of water now there. Smoke was filling the room, and Sora choked, using the staff to stand up.

Above them, Thor could hear Masters speak. “Hit the button,” Masters ordered over his comm.

From a bit away came the voice of his protégé. “But-“

“Now!” The order was harsh. Thor looked up sharply at the catwalk, where the dark-haired girl in black scrambled and slammed a hand down on the button. Thor threw Mjolnir into the smoke, but knew that it would not hit anything. Masters and his protégé would be long gone.

When the smoke cleared, Thor looked up. Masters was gone, as was the girl in back. An alarm was sounding, as the side of the large cargo container slowly opened. The lights were flickering, the red flashes from the alarms providing the most illumination. The remaining HYDRA agents were shouting in fear, scattering quickly.

“Sora,” Thor said, his voice sharp as he moved to his feet.

The half-Asgardian in question was standing on her feet, her knees shaking. Her gaze was held on the staff in her hand, and she looked almost terrifyingly blank.

“Sora?” Thor asked.

She did not reply.

* * *

 Up on the deck, the girl in black looked back towards the door they’d sealed shut behind them.

“We’re just going to leave them all behind here?” she demanded. “The ship is sinking.”

“They’re just assets. They can be replaced.” Masters frowned as he looked back over at her, raising an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me you feel sorry for them. You know as well as I do that never ends well.”

“No.” There was only the briefest moment of hesitation. “No. I don’t.”

He narrowed his eyes down at her, studying her carefully. “Be careful, Jess,” he warned simply, watching her until she met his gaze. “You know what happens what you start to worry about things that aren’t your concern.”

She swallowed heavily. “Yes, sir.”

Masters watched her a moment further before walking back to the helicopter. The girl in black followed without a word, forcing herself not to look back. That was a weakness, and she would not show weakness. Not when she’d been trained not to. She only looked back when she got onto the helicopter.

Jessica Drew looked back at the exit and swallowed. She closed the helicopter door behind and hoped their deaths would be quick, and that they would drown before the monster she’d unleashed got a hold of them.

* * *

 

The alarms flashed red around them, but Thor focused on Sora.

The look on her face marked her as a thousand miles away. Her eyes were on the staff that she was gripping like a lifeline, her knuckles white. There were bruises on her face and arms, little marks on the inside of her elbows. It was the first time that Thor had seen her age in the way she held her shouldres.

“Sora, put it down,” Thor warned, his voice low as he held onto Mjolnir. The runes on the Berserker staff glowed orange again, and Sora whimpered, almost lost against the sound of rushing water. “Sora, listen to me.”

She still did not reply. But this time, she looked back over towards him. Her grip on the staff tightened.

He moved forward, and she flinched. Thor moved backward, his hands raising before he slowly put Mjolnir down. “You need to put it down, Sora,” he said. “We need to leave this place, it’ll be under water soon enough. Put down the staff.”

Sora’s eyes slipped shut. The staff slipped out of her hands moments later. She gasped as she scrambled backward, a hand over her mouth as she went down on her bottom, scrambling back to put as much distance as she could between the staff and her. The water splashed everywhere, soaking her.

Thor moved forward quickly, kicking away the staff as he knelt in front of her. “You’re alright, you’re alright,” he promised, sighing as he looked her back over. “Are you injured?”

“No,” Sora managed to reply, her voice cracking as she took a deep breath. “No.” Her eyes flickered back up to him, and Thor noticed as she glanced back to the staff. “Thor… I think I was controlling it. I was using it. I… I think I was controlling the staff…”

Thor looked back over towards the staff, frowning deeply. “You were in control of your anger? Not the other way around?” he demanded, knowing that was a surprise.

He’d heard stories of the Berserker staff. Natasha had sent him files of what had happened to the humans who had touched it. The staff had been made for Asgardian hands. But then, Thor realized, Sora was half Asgardian. And considering what she’d been through, she’d experienced enough anger to know how to swim in it, rather than drown.

“I think so.” Sora winced before struggling to her feet. Thor kept a hand on her arm, keeping her steady. “I’m okay. Just tired.” She looked around before demanding, “Why is this ship going under?”

“Because Thor decided to make a giant hole in the ship so that it would go all _Titanic_ on us,” Tony snarked, landing next to them. The front of his helmet slid up, revealing his clearly frantic face. “We need to get out of here, now.”

That was an understatement. Sigyn hurried up a stairwell to them, clearly relieved. She looked back behind her, making the two with her were coming. The dark-haired teenager’s eyes widened when he saw Thor and Tony, but the white-blond haired woman only shook her head, gritting her teeth as she kept pulling the teen along.

“We need to get out of here,” she said, her voice frantic as she kept supporting him. “He needs medical attention.”

“Wait, who’s the kid?” Tony demanded. “And who are you?”

“She’s Dimitria, he’s Donnie. Both enhanced,” Sora mentioned as she nodded back over at her. “They’re both prisoners like me.”

“Are there any other prisoners here?” Thor demanded, looking around. “Because we are almost out of time.”

Any reply that might have come next was drowned out by a roar.

The surviving five turned sharply to the sound. It echoed around the metal of the ship, against the rising water, against the time that was quickly running out. Dimitria’s face had gone white, and Donnie swallowed heavily. Sora took a step back, her eyes wide.

“They let him out,” Dimitria said, her voice numb as she took a step back. She moved Donnie behind her the best she could, swallowing heavily. “Fuck, they let him out.”

“Who did they let out?” Thor demanded, looking up sharply towards the container. Something was coming. He could sense that much.

Thor just was not expecting what did come out.

The thing that came out was monstrous. It was the only way to describe it. It was large, bigger that the Hulk, flesh-colored, had had what looked like spikes coming out of its spine. It lumbered forward, roaring loudly before turning to look at them. What almost looked like a smile crossed its face. And what was terrifying close to a laugh slipped from its teeth-filled mouth.

“What the hell is that!?” Sora demanded, her eyes widening as she took a step back, looking sharply back at Dimitria.

“Oh,” Tony said, sounding almost calm. “Shit. Yeah. I know him.”

“You know that thing?” Thor demanded, spinning Mjolnir briefly.

Next to him, Sora moved forward, picking up the staff and hissing slightly. Her eyes flashed orange as she straightened, spinning the staff so it was in a ready position. Dimitria kept Donnie behind her, even as the teenager took a deep breath and shook his head, almost trying to prepare himself.

“Yeah.” Tony’s voice was grim as he said, “That? That’s the Abomination. And we’re kinda fucked.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **The Girl in Black/ Jessica Drew** \- Eve Hewson  
>  **Anthony Masters** \- Kris Holden-Reid  
>  **Dimitria Kravinoff** \- Tuppence Middleton  
>   
>  Donnie Gill originally appears in Agents of SHIELD, but I decided screw it, he’s getting a better ending than he got on the show. Dimitria, meanwhile, is a gender-flipped version of Spider-Man’s Chameleon mixed with a bit of Inhuman-ness. She’ll have a larger role in future stories, as will Jessica and Masters.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ships sink. Jane and Thor realize that Sora might need help beyond theirs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, chapter out at reasonable time! Woo! Also: fight scenes are the Worst.

For a moment, everything was still. Then the Abomination smiled, roared, and charged at them.

“Move!” Tony yelled.

Everyone scattered. Donnie grabbed the back of Dimitria’s jacket and tugged her to safety behind a large set of crates, water splashing they tried to get out of the way. Tony went above, already firing the proposers on his palms to drive the monster back. Sora moved to flank him. Sigyn found cover next to Donnie and Dimitria and aimed her crossbow, firing within seconds.

Thor, however, charged right back at the Abomination. He bodily tackled him, sending them both crashing into the shipping container he’d been stowed in.

“What the hell is that thing!?” Sigyn shouted as she moved to her feet. She was soaking wet, her hair in her face as she tried to find her crossbow in the water. The water splashed and whirled as the Abomination and Thor literally wrestled to gain the upper hand.

“The Abomination!” Tony shouted in reply, yelping as he dove out of the way of a crate flung at him.

“The  _what_!?” Sora demanded. The blonde ran up the stairs of a catwalk, scrambling up to get to higher ground.

“General Ross’s attempt to recreate the Hulk using the leftovers of Erskine’s formula,” Tony explained, wincing as he watched Thor literally thrown across the room and into a wall like he was a rag doll. “He almost killed the Hulk. And kinda broke Harlem.”

“Masters has been saying that he’s his answer to the Hulk,” Dimitria mentioned, yelling out when something crashed above them. She was keeping close to Donnie, looking sharply around them. “And that he was excited about seeing the rematch.”

“When will people stop messing with shit they don’t understand?!” Sigyn demanded.

“When they’re dead?” Tony deadpanned.

“You’re hilarious, Stark.”

“I try.”

“Would you two please bicker when we get out of the sinking ship with a monster the size of a bilgesnipe trying to kill us!?” Thor demanded as he got back up, throwing Mjolnir and managing to knock the Abomination to its knees.

“What’s a bilgesnipe?” Sora asked after a brief pause.

“Later!” Thor warned, catching Mjolnir as it came back.

Above them, Sora jumped from the catwalk two stories above the Abomination, yelling as she held onto the staff and managed to get it around what Sigyn assumed to be its throat. The Abomination roared, trying to buck off Sora in some bizarre mockery of what the Texan agent she’d met, Clay, would have called a rodeo.

“What the shit, Sora,” Sigyn muttered, shaking her head as she raised the crossbow and fired, hitting the Abomination in the chest. It seemed to do very little damage as it managed to dislodge Sora and send her flying.

Sora cried out as she was sent flying into the wall, landing on a box before rolling off of it into the water. A moan of pain slipped from her, and she struggled to her feet. The Abomination lunged at her, and Thor moved forward, tackling the Abomination and sending them both flying in the opposite direction, sending a large splash everywhere.

The water was still rising all the while, and almost seemed to be faster. Dimitria cried out as she was knocked briefly down, choking on the water that splashed on her. Donnie tried to help her to her feet, though he was struggling to stay standing as well.

“Sir, approximately ten minutes remain until the ship is under water,” JARVIS reported. “I would recommend evacuating immediately.”

“Yeah, thanks, JARVIS,” Tony muttered, firing another repulse blast at the Abomination. Every blast Stark sent seemed to do nothing. “We didn’t notice.”

Thor grit his teeth, throwing Mjolnir again. “Stark, Sigyn, get everyone out of here,” he ordered. He looked above him at the hole that he’d made earlier. “I can make my escape when you are all out.”

“Please tell me you remember the fact that we’re all standing in water?” Tony demanded, shooting Thor a frantic look. “You and the Asgardians might survive a mass electrocution, but some of us are kinda, you know, not completely invulnerable.”

“I’m not in the mood to die of electrocution, thanks,” Dimitria muttered. The shapeshifter was pushing Donnie ahead, trying to get them both up the stairs of the catwalk. Dimitria screamed, pushing Donnie down and covering them both as a box exploded over them. The Abomination wanted a fight, and didn’t care who he was targeting.

“No one is dying here today,” Thor said firmly.

Sigyn grit her teeth, firing another arrow towards the Abomination. “Then let’s start getting out of the sinking ship,” she suggested, her voice snappish. “Before we end up at the bottom of the caldera.”

“Yeah, good idea.” Tony flew over towards Donnie and Dimitria. “C’mon, you two, we need to get you out of here.”

“We both can protect ourselves,” Dimitria snapped, glaring back over at Tony.

“Um, yeah, but you also have been held prisoner for god knows how long.” Thor could practically hear Tony’s eyeroll even behind his mask. “Who’s going first.”

“Donnie.”

“Dimitria.”

The names were said simultaneously, and the two glared at each other. “You’re a kid, you do not need to be here,” Dimitria snapped.

“You’ve been tortured a lot more than me, and my powers are more offensive than yours,” Donnie pointed out. His voice was stronger now, and he shot a pleading look at Stark. “Just get her out first.”

Tony’s head turned between them as he considered it. “Ginger, watch the kid, I’ve got her.”

“What did he just call me?” Sigyn demanded, glaring at Stark flew up with Dimitria in his arms, the blond woman squealing in both surprise and slight fear. Sigyn made it to Donnie’s side a moment later, pushing him down so that they were both somewhat covered.

“Is that really important right now!?” Sora demanded, glaring up as she rolled back to her feet.

Thor laughed. “Just like old times,” he muttered, remembering all those years of battles, of the banter between friends and allies and the people he cared about most in the world. Sigyn only shot him a look as she hurried Donnie further up. The more space between them and the Abomination, the better.

“It better not be too much like old times,” Sigyn muttered. Another arrow found ground in the Abomination’s back. “Your old times usually got one of us hurt or kidnapped. Usually me or Loki.”

“Fandral on occasion as well.”

“Those don’t count, Fandral usually got himself into those situations. He needed no help from you.”

Thor laughed as he gripped onto Mjolnir, his eyes narrowing as the Abomination roared once more, turning to face him. “Sigyn, get moving, as high as you can, Stark will meet you both to get you off,” he warned. “Sora, you head up as well.”

“Yeah, not happening.” Sora grit her teeth as she readjusted her grip on the staff, taking another deep breath. “You ready?” she asked, looking at Thor when he moved next to her. The Abomination faced them both, an almost excited smile across his monstrous face.

Somehow, Thor was not surprised that Sora had every intention of sticking with him in this fight. He gave a quiet nod at her, smiling despite himself as he swung Mjolnir.

“You know you can escape with them,” Thor pointed out. He could no longer hear Dimitria’s yells, while Sigyn was covering their backs and shooting at the Abomination where she could. Sigyn remained closer than the others, and he knew that she was very reluctant to leave them there. She would likely force Donnie to escape before her.

Sora shook her head. “I need to hit something,” she replied bluntly.

Thor gave a smile. “Then by all means. You first.”

Perhaps, just perhaps, he should have been taking this a bit more serious. But he could not stop his smiling from growing when Sora twirled the staff and moved in. He threw Mjolnir, hitting the Abomination in the chest and sending him down to his knees once more. Sora took advantage, diving and trying to take out the Abomination’s legs with the staff.

It might have been her years of underground fight clubs. It might have been the staff identifying the Asgardian weapon in Thor’s own hands. It might have been the bond that had formed between Sora and Thor. They had sparred together a time or two. And Thor had seen her in the fight club, violent and aggressive but graceful in its ruthlessness.

Either way, the two fought as if they’d been partners for years. Thor’s blunt style took away attention from Sora, who was able to sneak and move behind the Abomination on occasion.

Sigyn remained at the catwalk, providing cover and sending arrows down. Donnie was with her, keeping under cover, though his head occasionally poked up.

At one point, the Abomination managed to toss Sora across the ship into Thor. The Asgardian grunted as he managed to grab her, the two of them tumbling back into the water. An arrow flew and hit the Abomination in the neck while they were down, and the Abomination roared in more annoyance than anything. Thor’s heart almost stopped when the Abomination grabbed the side of the shipping container he’d broken out of, tearing it apart.

“Sigyn!” Thor shouted, his eyes widening.

The scholar’s eyes widened, and she was fast enough to push Donnie down, but not fast enough to get completely out of the way. The side hit Sigyn head on, sending her hard down the catwalk two levels down. Her crossbow flew from her grasp and fell to the flooded floor below.

Thor’s stomach flipped when he heard the crack of Sigyn’s head hitting the catwalk. They were not immortal. They could be killed. And if Thor had lead Sigyn to her death today, he would never forgive himself.

Donnie scrambled down the stairs of two floors to where she’d fallen. “She’s out cold!” Donnie warned with a shout. Stark appeared again a moment later, without Dimitria, and landed next to him.

Thor had already thrown himself, angry and ready for a fight, back against the Abomination, Sora scrambling to stay both out of their ways and support Thor when she could. It was all Thor could do not to bring a bolt down on all of them.

“I’ll get her out and then come back for the kid, but you two need to move your asses off the ship.” Tony stood up carefully, Sigyn cradled carefully into his arms.

“We do that and he might escape,” Sora snapped, spitting out blood as she struggled back to her feet. “And he could cause a lot of damage to the city. To the world. And if HYDRA gets him back…”

Thor grit his teeth before holding onto his hammer. “I need to bring down the power that I have, bring him down with the ship. It’s the only chance we have.”

“He’s not going to stand still long enough to do that,” Sora warned. They were barely holding him back as they were.

There was a pause, a low argument up above them as Thor and Sora both tried to dodge and take down the Abomination. They were running out of options. They were running out of time. And Thor could tell that Sora was starting to run out of energy, even before he was forced to tackle Sora out of the way from the Abomination’s charge. Stark spoke again a long minute later.

“The kid says if you can distract him for another minute or two, he can stop him,” Tony reported. “Kid, you sure about that?” Another pause. “Yeah, I know we don’t have another choice. I’m trying to make sure none of us die on a sinking ship of all things.”

“Do it!” Thor shouted, glaring up towards where Stark was arguing with Donnie. “We don’t have another choice!”

“How long do you need?” Sora asked as she looked back up.

There was a pause. “Get him to stay still for a minute,” Donnie’s voice said a moment later onto the comms. “And when I say move, you move. Fast.”

“Understood,” Thor confirmed, taking another deep breath before flying forward again. He could see Stark taking Sigyn up through the empty space, towards the exit hole Thor had made earlier.

Sora shouted in surprise when she watched him move forward, scrapping with the Abomination head on. “Get him on his side!” she shouted, hurrying forward with the staff as she moved onto his back, trying to choke him with the staff.

Thor grit his teeth, yelling out in the struggle to try and keep the Abomination still. At one point, the Abomination roared and turned sharply, forcing Thor underneath the water. He managed to take a breath before he went under, gritting his teeth as he tried to hold on. Drowning would not be a pleasant death.

And he would meet his son before he died. That helped to give him some strength, forcing himself to find some way to get out.

Just before he felt his lungs burn, Sora managed to roll the Abomination back onto his side. “You’re not drowning on me!” Sora warned, yelling out as she moved the blade of her staff into the Abomination’s leg, pinning him.

“Thanks!” Thor only grinned, moving to try and keep the Abomination as still as he could. “How much longer?!” he shouted up, grunting when he was knocked back, managing to grab Mjolnir.

“Move!” Donnie bellowed above them.

Sora grabbed the staff and scrambled back, tripping in the water as she tried to move. Thor flew back the best that he could, grabbing Sora by the back of her shirt as he did so. The extra weight knocked him somewhat off balance, but he counteracted it, sending them up instead of down and onto the next level of the catwalks.

Sora nodded her thanks, and then looked down. “Holy shit,” she breathed when she saw what Donnie had done.

The Abomination screamed, and Thor’s eyes widened when he saw that the Abomination was, in fact, stuck – in rapidly expanding ice, slowly turning him into a statue.

Sora looked up sharply, her eyes widening when she saw who she and Thor’s savior was. Donnie was standing on the highest catwalk, his legs shaking, ice coming from where he touched the railing, spreading down the ship and trapping the Abomination in place.

“Oh,” Thor said, sounding impressed. “So that is what he can do.”

Sora spat out blood, looking back up before saying, “I was wondering what his powers were.”

“They seem incredibly useful,” Thor noted.

“Better than appearing twenty-five at the age of ninety-something.”

“Stop chatting and move!” Tony ordered through Thor’s comm. He landed next to Donnie, his arms moving around the teen before he flew up in the hole. “Let’s get out of here!”

Thor moved to Sora, grabbing onto her before saying, “Do you trust me?”

Sora groaned. “Nothing goes well when someone asks that…”

He smirked before flying through the hole. The cracks of ice down below, as the Abomination began to break through his new prison, were loud and clear. Thor flew up, keeping an arm around Sora as she gripped the berserker staff tightly. The night air was crisp and bright, and Santorini was beautiful below them.

When they were in the air, Thor smiled before saying, “Trust me.”

“Thor-“ Sora screamed when she was dropped. She’d fallen less than ten feet when she grunted, scrambling to keep a hold of the staff. She looked up sharply, her eyes widening when she realized she’d been caught by what looked like a robot.

“Meet the Iron Legion,” Tony said, sounding almost cheerful. He was holding onto Donnie. A clearly annoyed Dimitria was held by another, and Sigyn was being supported by two of them. “Light it up, Thor.”

Thor could not help but laugh at the look on Sora’s face. “With pleasure.”

He raised Mjolnir, summoning every bit of his power. A lightning bolt raised down, passing through Mjolnir and Thor before heading to strike the ship below. The sky flashed as bright as daylight, and the Abomination screamed down below, out of rage and pain and frustration.

For the briefest of moments, unnoticed by any of them, Thor’s eyes flashed blue.

It was gone in a second, and the ship cracked from it all, splitting into two. There was a distant roar as water overwhelmed it, sending the Lerna down into the depths of the caldera.

When it was gone, everyone stared down at the water, as if praying that the Abomination would not rise from the waves. When three minutes passed, and the water became calm, Thor grinned.

“Anyone else hurt?” Tony asked through the comms.

Answers in the negative came a moment later, though Sora’s answer was hesitant. Thor glanced back at her, sighing before looking back down. Multiple ships were inbound, and Thor tensed at the idea of another fight. He knew that he could take it, but he didn’t know if the other scould.

“NATO ships, Thor. Friendlies.” Tony sighed before starting towards the largest one, Donnie still held up in his arms. “C’mon, guys. Time to deal with government bullshit.”

 

* * *

 

Sora only had to be around Greek NATO agent Yiorgos Krallis twenty minutes before she decided that she did not like him. She was convinced that the only reason that she and the others weren’t being taken into custody was because Tony had literally called the President of the United States.

And because every one of them had heard the distant crack of thunder when Krallis made comments about bringing them in for interrogation.

Sigyn had woken back up on the boat, none for worse for wear other than a minor headache. Her crossbow was lost to the depths with the _Lerna_ and the Abomination. Divers were searching for its body now. Dimitria and Donnie were the focus of NATO, the two unknowns, but Tony’s call to Ellis, Sigyn’s threat to call Contessa Valentina de Fontaine, and the fact that Thor had literally taken down a massive ship less than an hour before caused the NATO Greek agents to back off.

“We’re free to go,” Tony mentioned, glaring as Krallis stalked away. “But we’re gonna need to remember his name. He’s gonna be a problem later.”

“He’s a problem for a later day,” Thor replied simply. He stood near the edge of the deck, keeping an eye out at sea, as if afraid the Abomination would rise from the depths.

“True to that. Don’t know about you all, but I’m ready to head home.” Tony paused before turning to Dimitria and Donnie, both sitting on a bench with blankets around their shoulders. “Where are you two from, anyway?”

“Novi Grad, Sokovia,” Dimitria replied, sighing softly. “But I have been in the process of immigrating to the States. Sponsorship has been… complicated.” She swallowed heavily and looked down at her hands, squeezing them hard. “For multiple reasons.”

Tony hummed. “Let’s talk. We’ll uncomplicate it.” He looked at Donnie. “And you, kid?”

“I don’t know if it’s safe for me to go out.” The admission was tight and rushed, and Donnie swallowed heavily. “They’ve… they’ve been experimenting with me. Playing with my mind. And I don’t know if I have a button in my brain that they could push and just control me like it was nothing.”

Dimitria reached out and grabbed his hand to silent him. Sora paused, glancing towards where Krallis was talking with several other people. Donnie hadn’t thought it was safe to mention it until he was gone, and if he believed that, then Sora knew that Krallis was an enemy.

“You mean brainwashing,” Tony said quietly.

Donnie hesitated before nodding again. “Yeah. Said it was used to turn valuable assets.” There was a hard edge of bitterness to his voice that should have been foreign to his age, and he leaned back, tugging the blanket around him a bit tighter. Dimitria’s hand went to his back.

Sigyn frowned softly, looking back over at Thor. “It sounds like Amora and Lorelei’s magic,” she mentioned softly, looking her way. Thor knew the same memories were passing both their minds. “Like what happened with Haldor.”

He hadn’t heard that name in a very long time, and he knew that it still hurt Sigyn to think it. Thor reached out, silently putting his hand on Sigyn’s shoulder. The woman flinched, and Thor pulled it away. He knew that she would not want to think of this when were faced with something of a similar manner.

Thor briefly wondered if Sigyn might have ever forgiven Loki for enthralling people the same that Lorelei had. Especially after what had happened with Haldor.

“They didn’t try it with you?” Sigyn asked Dimitria, making a valiant effort to focus on anything but her memories.

Dimitria swallowed heavily. “I have been in re-education programs before. For my role in the resistance against the regime in Sokovia. For… other reasons in my personal life.” She gave a bitter smile before saying, “It never took before. It didn’t now.”

Everyone was quiet as they looked to Sora. The blonde sighed before looking down at the staff, now leaning against the railing within her reach. The anger was still there, underneath her veins like a river. But it wasn’t overwhelming. It was there. It was malleable. It could be used to her advantage. For the first time, she wasn’t drowning. She was swimming.

“Masters thought that the staff’s influence would corrupt me,” Sora said simply. “He thought that would be enough to turn me over to his side.”

“It didn’t?” Tony asked. Thor shot him a look, but he knew on some level that someone had to ask it.

Sora gave a dark smile. “I controlled it instead.”

There was a pause before Tony accepted it and turned to Dimitria and Donnie. “I’ve got a few safe places. I’ll get in touch with some people, see what we can do if there’s anything HYDRA left in your head.”

Donnie looked grateful before asking, “And HYDRA can’t get near me?”

“They won’t,” Tony said, his voice firm. “I’m gonna make damned sure of it.” He looked back at Thor, Sigyn, and Sora before asking, “I’ll take them both back to New York with me. I’m assuming you’re gonna head back to Norway?”

Thor nodded. “Jane and her mother are there, as are the others,” he explained. “Sora and I will make our way back there.” Sora nodded weakly, closing her eyes and leaning her head back. “We will be safe there, us and Sigyn and the others.”

“I’m not going to Norway,” Sigyn interrupted, shooting Thor a look. “I have to go back to Italy. I’m hiding there with… friends. I’ll be fine there.”

Tony sighed before nodding. “I’ll drop you off on the way, Weasley.”

Sigyn rolled her eyes. “My hair is clearly too coppery to be a Weasley.”

“Oh, goody, she got that reference.” Tony tapped on his sunglasses before saying, “My chopper will be here in twenty minutes for a straight shot to Italy, with a jet picking us up in Rome. I can get Anne of Green Gables a car ride from there. Thor, I’ll arrange transport for you and Blond Donatello from here to Norway.” He nodded at the others before heading back to talk more with Krallis, who looked increasingly unhappy as Tony approached.

Sora’s eyes were closed, and her breathing was somewhat deeper. Dimitria and Donnie were speaking quietly, clearly discussing whether this would be a good idea. Sigyn gave them some space, moving to the other side of the ship. The sun was starting to rise in the distant, and for the first time in a century, Thor realized that it had been a very long night.

“You know you’re welcome back with us,” Thor mentioned as he moved back to Sigyn. His eyes flickered back over towards Sora before saying, “It might be useful to have you there, to help with Sora, protect Jane.”

“If HYDRA attacks you again, then you call and I’ll come,” Sigyn promised, sighing as she looked back up at Thor. She crossed her arms against her chest before saying, “But I have commitments back in Italy. I’ll be fine there. I’m capable of protecting myself.”

Thor sighed before saying, “If this is because of what happened to Donnie and Dimitria back on the ship, what they went through-“

“It’s not.” Sigyn’s voice was sharp as she glared at Thor. “Don’t, Thor.”

“What happened to Haldor was not your fault,” Thor said quietly to the woman who might have been his sister-in-law once upon a time. He knew it was dangerous territory. But he had to try and push through. “It was not your fault, and it was not Sif’s fault.”

“I have never blamed Sif for my brother’s fate and we both know it.” Sigyn gave a bitter smile as she looked back at Thor. “But have you ever not blamed yourself on some level for what happened with Loki?”

Thor didn’t have an answer to that. He looked away, sighing deeply. “Contact me when you are back there and safe,” he requested simply. “Please. And be careful.”

Sigyn sighed before moving forward and hugging him tightly. Thor hugged her back without hesitation.

“Always,” Sigyn promised quietly, smiling weakly as she looked back over towards Sora. “Take care of her. And yourself and Jane.” She looked back at him and winked. “I have to meet my future niece or nephew after all?”

“They will need their aunt, I know that for a fact.” He gave a long-suffering sigh. “Promise me you won’t tell them too many embarrassing stories of me.”

“I make no such promises.”

Despite the hardships, the trauma, and the fact that they still had so far to go, Thor could not help but smile at her reply and the fact that they had survived this.

* * *

 

The trip back to Oslo was silent.

The Berserker staff was being kept in a black case in the trunk, and Thor caught Sora’s eyes flickering back to it on occasion from where she sat in the driver’s seat. She had volunteered to drive, saying that she could not handle being flown around by Thor or the Iron Legion. Tony had arranged a car rental in Oslo for them, and they had made their way to Randolph’s house from there.

“Have you ever been here?” Thor asked quietly, realizing there was every chance she hadn’t. Sora and her father were not close.

“No.” Sora’s voice was clipped, and she took a deep breath and gripped the wheel tightly. “I also have not seen my father for a decade.”

Thor could have sworn he heard the wheel cracking beneath her fingers. He dismissed that thought. Sora had control of her strength and abilities. That much was clear. But he knew that the staff had unlocked things in her she’d buried.

He just hoped that they could help her truly control it, rather than just use it.

They had barely parked the SUV when Thor saw a brunette form rush down the stairs, despite her large stomach that seemed twice her size. His heart almost stopped. He’d been gone a few days. Thor knew that logically. But Jane almost looked bigger than she had those few days before, and he didn’t hesitate before opening the door. He barely noticed that he’d thrown the door off the SUV.

Jane was already moving to him, and Thor held onto him, dropping Mjolnir to the ground. For a few moments, it was just the two of them again, Jane’s face buried in his shoulder, his nose in her hair, arms around each other.

And dimly, with his one hand against her stomach, Thor felt a strong kick.

“We’re alright. We’re alright, Thor, we’re alright…” Jane whispered, taking a deep breath. She knew exactly what he had worried about the entire time he’d been gone. Of course she had. “You’re alright?”

Thor nodded. “Unharmed and well,” he promised, sighing before admitting, “Sora… might be a different story.”

Jane let go of him. Her hand moved to his face, cupping it gently, and he watched her look back to the SUV that they’d driven in on. Thor noticed that the others had come out of the house – Selvig and Jill and Darcy among them.

It was only then Thor saw Randolph at the rear. The former Asgardian mason paused at the bottom of the stairwell of his porch, staring blankly at the SUV. Thor turned in that instant, keeping a hand on Jane’s shoulder and the other on her stomach. The kicks of their child beneath her skin, under his hand, grounded him as he realized that this was not going to end well.

She had been tense since they’d found her on the  _Lerna_. And he knew that the staff, no matter how much she claimed she could control it, could affect her. It had brought to the forefront feelings she thought she had buried, and no one could take that lying down, not even someone as strong as Sora.

Thor only needed a very brief glance at Sora’s face when she saw her father to realize that he was right.

“You fucking bastard.” Sora moved forward, not looking at any of them, and slapped Randolph across the face. “You fucking  _bastard_.”

Randolph didn’t fight it. He took the first slap and the punch that followed. Darcy squealed, diving out of the way and grabbing Selvig as Sora kept going after Randolph. She was still shouting, increasingly angry. No matter how much she claimed she had control of her anger, everything had been brought forward.

Thor swallowed heavily, looking back down at Jane before moving forward. He wrapped his arms around Sora’s waist, not releasing her even when she screamed in frustration, still trying to go after Randolph the entire while.

“How could you not fucking know!?” Sora screamed, glaring at her father as Thor pulled her away. “You’ve been sleeping your way around the world for centuries, how the fuck could you not realize that you might have left a child!? Are you that irresponsible?! Are you that selfish?”

She lunged again at him, but Thor’s grip on her remained. Sora tried to lash out, sobbing in frustration as she started to slump, shaking badly.

“Thor.” The god of thunder looked up, and saw Jane move forward, standing between Sora and Randolph. “Let her go. Trust me.”

Thor swallowed, but nodded, releasing Sora. Sora looked up sharply, her eyes seeking her father, before they found Jane in front of her. Sora flinched, squeezing her eyes shut. Her hands moved to her temples, and she couldn’t hold back the sob that came. Sora took a step forward before falling to her knees, trying to breathe.

“I can control it,” Sora said, her voice cracking. “I can control it…”

“Not alone.” Jane moved forward. She moved to kneel down in front of Sora, but paused when she realized it was very unlikely that she would be able to get back up. She instead sat down, reaching out and taking Sora’s hand. The half-Asgardian flinched, and Jane swallowed.

“We’re gonna go somewhere safe,” Jane promised, her voice low. “Somewhere they can’t get to any of us. Somewhere that understands that staff and can help you control it completely.”

“Where?” Sora asked, her voice cracking.

Jane hesitated, eyes flickering back to Thor. She nodded simply at him. They’d fought about this for weeks, but now, she knew that this was the only option. They had to do this. They didn’t have another choice. They were all at risk. They had to get somewhere safer, and there was one place safer, where HYDRA couldn’t touch them.

“Asgard,” Thor said, raising his chin at Jane.

“Yeah.” Jane sighed. “We’re going to Asgard.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Agent Yiorgos Krallis - Panagiotis Bougiouris


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang heads to Asgard. Sigyn chooses to keep her secrets a while longer.

In the aftermath of her outburst, Thor took Sora out into the woods for a long walk, to try and help her calm down. The stress of watching Sora’s reunion with Randolph and then literally moving in front of her enraged, violent half-Asgardian friend was enough to exhaust Jane, and she sighed as she slumped onto the bed in the guest room.

Whatever had happened while Sora had been taken, it had been bad. Thor had explained what he could before taking Sora off into the woods. HYDRA had forced Sora to touch the Berserker staff, Randolph’s weapon, in hopes of corrupting her.

Sora had fought back, managed to use the staff against them, but was clearly shaken and badly affected by whatever feelings had been brought up, most obviously the resentment and anger she felt towards her father. Jane remembered she once claimed that she wasn’t as angry, but Jane knew damned well it was a lie or a downplay now.

Randolph himself seemed to believe it was justified. He had quietly gotten into the car that Thor and Sora had come in, driving it back to town. He claimed it was to give Sora space. Jane believed it was more for Randolph to swallow and reconcile himself with his own mistakes and guilt.

Everything had turned into a mess so quickly, and now Jane knew, as much as she didn’t want to, the only chance they had was to go to Asgard.

She had to be practical. Sora could not control her anger right now. The staff might very well consume or corrupt or destroy her. They needed more information on it. And with HYDRA still active, she did not want to risk the baby any more than she had. Asgard was the only option.

Even if her child’s grandfather had called her a goat once upon a time. And if she still blamed herself for her child’s grandmother’s death and knew very well Asgard might do the same.

“You alright there?” Jane glanced up when she heard her mother’s voice, sighing when she saw her there. Jill looked exhausted and worried, but not about herself – about everyone else, because that was Jill Kincaid-Foster in a nutshell.

“Just thinking,” Jane admitted, sighing as she kept her hands on her stomach. The baby was still kicking. He did it often. It wasn’t comfortable, but it was a reminder that her baby was doing fine, that they were strong and alive.

“About?” Jill sighed as she closed the door behind her, sitting down next to her daughter and quietly smoothing back her hair. “C’mon, Jane. You can’t shut down right now.”

“I know, Mom.” Her tone was sharper, but she paused. “I’m sorry, I just…” She closed her eyes before saying, “I’m scared to death that someday, our baby is going to resent us like...”

Sora had every right to be furious at Randolph. He hadn’t known about her, but Sora had shot a strong point in the fact that he should have realized that it was a possibility. Jane herself had wondered if there were other half-siblings of Sora’s around the world, throughout time, that had grown up alone and confused like she had.

“Like Sora does her own father,” Jill guessed.

Jane nodded weakly. “I just- I never want my child to look at me like that.”

All she wanted was her child to grow up happy and healthy. Jane knew that they were not going to have an easy life. But seeing the grief that Sora still carried after all this time… that was hard to swallow. And she hated that more than anything, her own child might someday feel that.

Her mother’s hand moved other shoulder, and Jane closed her eyes as Jill pulled her into a tight hug. Mom hugs never failed in the end, it seemed. It might have been Jill’s own superpower.

“Now, Jane Miriam Foster, look at me.” Jane took a deep breath, looking back at her mother. “I’m gonna tell you the difference right now. You and Thor are not going to be Randolph. You are going to be there for your child. This kid? Is not alone. They already have a huge family. You and Thor. Me and his friends and family on Asgard. Darcy and Sora and Erik. They are not alone, Jane. And they will never feel alone. We’ll all make sure of it.”

Jane took a deep breath. “I really hate pregnancy emotions,” she mumbled, rubbing away a few tears. “And I hate that I’m still craving barbecued pork when I hate barbeque and I don’t eat pork.”

Jill snorted in amusement. “There was a time when I was pregnant with you where I only ate pickles.”

“No wonder I can’t stand them now.”

Her mother squeezed her hand again, and Jane watched as she stood up and moved back up to her feet. “Now,” Jill mentioned. “I’m going to go and talk to Darcy and Selvig, see if they’re coming with us. Then when Thor gets back, I’ll get him to take me back to London so we can get some things.”

“You’re coming to Asgard?” Jane asked, her eyes widening.

She didn’t want to admit out loud how relieved she was at the fact that her mother had every intention of coming. She had hoped, of course, but the last thing Jane wanted to do was force her mother to drop everything and go the Asgard for the next month or two or however long until the baby was born.

Jill shot Jane a half-annoyed look. “If you think I’m gonna let my pregnant daughter go alone to a place where her father-in-law once called her goat, you’ve got another thing coming.”

The astrophysicist only chuckled weakly, looking back up at her mother. “You’re gonna mess with Odin, aren’t you?”

Jill only smirked, though Jane caught the steel behind her eyes. “No one messes with my daughter and gets away with it. Not even the Allfather of the Nine Realms. Besides, we share a grandchild, he can’t do shit to me.”

Jane rolled her eyes fondly. She knew better than to get in her mother’s way. “I’ll make a list of things for you to grab from home. I do want to bring at least some of the baby’s things.” She paused. “We’re gonna have to take Nanna with us. I’m not leaving her here.”

The cat in question jumped onto the bed, purring and moving onto Jane’s lap. As much as Nanna clearly preferred Thor above all other people, she was smart enough to recognize that Jane probably needed some cuddles. As the cat licked the hand she’d used to wipe away a few tears, Jane wondered not for the first time if there was some extra intelligence to that cat.

“We’ll get everything together,” Jill promised, squeezing her hand. “You let me worry about that, sweetheart. Let me mom you a bit more before you become a mom.”

As Jan let her mother hug her again, she quietly thanked whatever entities were out there for her mother, because she truly did not know how she would have handled this without her.

* * *

 

By the next morning, Thor and Jill had gone back to London, packed what they needed, and had sent it to Asgard ahead of them. There was now a rune burnt into the grass of Jill’s house, though the artist had admitted that she thought that it was an excellent long decoration and would piss off her neighbors.

Randolph was still making himself scarce. Sora had barely spoken to anyone, but sat on the stairs of the porch, watching as everyone started to get ready. Darcy and Selvig had decided to join them as well, Selvig for the chance for research, and Darcy because she was not going to miss out on a chance like this.

“Okay, so don’t let go of the cat while we’re interdimensional traveling,” Darcy said, sighing as she held onto Nanna. “Got it. Please don’t scratch me, Nanna, I don’t wanna drop you in space.”

Thor looked a bit concerned. “Still close to me and hold on,” he mentioned, sighing as he moved to Jane, wrapping an arm around her. “Heimdall has assured me that it won’t harm the baby.”

“We wouldn’t be doing this if there was even a chance of it,” Jane pointed out. She kept her hand on her stomach, sighing as she felt the kick. She reached out, grabbing Thor’s hand and pressing it there. Even Thor paused and gave a quiet smile with it.

Jill came out of the house at that point, followed quickly by Selvig. “We’re ready to go when you both are,” she assured her daughter and son-in-law. “I apologize in advance if I throw up on arrival.”

“Heimdall will understand,” Thor assured her, giving a quiet smile. He looked tired, more so than Jane had seen in a long time. He’d been sticking close to Sora when he could, keeping an eye on her.

Selvig carried the staff over. They’d wrapped it very carefully in a blanket, tying it enough that it couldn’t be opened. Sora’s eyes followed it, and she took a deep breath before moving to her feet. She pointedly stood as far away from it as possible, on the other side of Darcy.

“What should we expect here?” Sora asked, sighing as she glanced up at the sky.

“It will be a quick journey, but intense,” Thor mentioned. “We do not need to touch, but do not reach outside of the bridge. Should you be lost in space, there is no guarantee you will be found again.”

“No pressure,” Selvig muttered, giving a long-suffering sigh.

Thor glanced at each of them in turn, his arm going around Jane to keep her close. “Heimdall, we’re ready,” he called up, taking a deep breath.

The bridge came down on them a second later, bringing them through the sky. Thor had gone through the bridge a thousand times before.

To Jane, it was as insane and beautiful as it had been the first time. She held on tightly to Thor, taking a deep breath. She could distantly hear Darcy yell when they went up, and almost pleading with Nanna to keep calm. If they lost the cat to the Bifrost, Jane would be livid.

But less than a minute later, the journey was over. And Jane knew that there was no going back. She would be there until the baby was born.

The light around them faded into gold, and their feet found solid ground. Thor kept his arms around Jane, determined not to let her fall. She kept to her feet, though she seemed a bit woozy. Jill gasped, staring in awe around her, while Sora stumbled forward. Darcy and Selvig were the two who fell, Selvig looking a bit green.

“Holy shit,” Darcy breathed, staring around them.

Thor smiled, looking to Heimdall. The gatekeeper only nodded back, though Thor swore he saw the hint of a smile on his face at their reactions. Jane only gave a weak smile towards Heimdall, squeezing Thor’s hand tightly.

“Welcome to Asgard, friends,” Heimdall said. “We’ve been expecting you.”

* * *

 

She still felt like an outsider.

Technically, she was an outsider. Despite being married to their prince and pregnant with a member of the royal family, Jane knew that the some of the people of Asgard saw her as a mortal, as something temporary. And compared to their lifespans, she knew that they were partially right.

But that didn’t mean that every look shot her way didn’t convince her that she and Thor were right in their plans to raise their child on Earth.

“So, are these the rooms you had growing up?” Jane asked as she looked around curiously. She was trying to distract herself.

“That they were,” Thor confirmed as he sat down on the bed. He’d already spoken with his father while Jill had taken Jane to these rooms. Whatever the conversation had been, it was strained. She hadn’t seen him this tired in months.

“You alright?” Jane asked, frowning as she looked back over at her husband.

“Tired,” Thor confirmed, sighing softly as he looked back over at her. Jane moved to sit down next to her on the bed, a hand moving to his. Thor took it, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand gently. “It has been a long few days.”

“Yeah, it has.” Jane pressed a hand to her stomach. Nanna jumped onto the bed, purring as she moved to Thor’s stomach. “But HYDRA can’t touch us here. And we’ll be safe here.”

Thor squeezed her hand again. “I know you do not want to be here,” he said softly, looking back. “And I cannot blame you for that. But you will be safer here. Our child will be safer here. And Sora will find the aid she needs that she could not find elsewhere.”

“I know.” Jane sighed as she looked back down and said, “And we keep talking about making sure that the baby knows their heritage… that includes Asgard too. Not just Earth.”

As much as they both planned to raise their child on Earth as much as possible, they would not be able to ignore its Asgardian heritage, Thor’s home. It would be a balancing act, one difficult to perfect, but Jane was ready for it. And so was Thor.

“I do not think my home is a place as much anymore,” Thor admitted, glancing back at her. “It’s wherever the people I love are. Where you are, our child. Our friends. That is where I belong. And wherever that is, I can be happy.”

Jane smiled slightly before saying, “Keep telling me that when it’s summer in London.”

“I survived Jotunheim, I can survive summer in London.” Thor shot her a grateful look before leaning over to press a kiss to her head. “I love you,” he said softly. “Both of you.” There was an annoyed yowl from a certain cat, and Thor chuckled. “All three of you.”

“Love you too.” Jane scratched Nanna’s head, and glanced up when she heard a knock on the door. “You expecting anyone?”

“I was not-“ Thor paused when he heard the knocking increase. It was lighter than what she would have expected, but Thor grinned. “Though I believe I know who it is.”

Her husband stood up, heading to the door and opening it. On the other side was a redheaded boy with bright eyes, practically jumping up and down. Jane had never met him in person, but she’d met his father briefly, and it was beyond obvious who this redhead boy was.

“Uncle Thor!” Ragnar, Volstagg’s only son, bolted right into the prince, and Thor grinned as he hugged him. The boy paused before looking at Jane and giving a frankly adorable little bow. “Lady Jane. I’m Ragnar Volstaggson. Mother says I’m not allowed to call you Aunt Jane until you say I can.”

She hadn’t met Volstagg’s wife Gyna the last time she was there, but Thor and Sigyn had only spoken of her in the fondest and glowing of terms. And if she’d managed to raise a son as polite as Ragnar, Jane was going to need to get some tips. Especially if her child’s appetite resembled an Asgardian’s in any ways.

“How about you call me Jane for now?” Jane asked, smiling warmly back at the boy. “No lady and no aunt for right now. We can be friends, if you want.”

“I would like that.” Ragnar perked up before asking, “Did you like the ball that Father gave you for your wedding?”

“I did.” Jane smiled before looking back down at him, winking before adding, “And I’m gonna make sure the baby knows that you helped to give it to them too. Maybe later you can show me some games you play with it.”

Ragnar grinned before looking back up at Thor and saying, “Father said I had to bring you with me, there’s a meal ready for you.” He looked back over before adding, “Both of you. And Aslaug and Dagny want you to bring the cat.”

Jane’s stomach growled on que, and the baby kicked immediately at the word food. “I think that we can do that,” Jane mentioned, moving back over. Nanna was already slipping to Thor’s feet, sticking close to them both, and Ragnar lead the way.

“Can I give the Prince or Princess another ball?” Ragnar asked as he looked back over at Jane and Thor.

It was one thing to logically know that her child would be a prince or a princess. It was another for Jane to hear another child call them that. She kept her hand on her stomach, smiling quietly. It seemed almost normal for Ragnar to speak of it, but Thor noticed her slight discomfort, judging from the hand that rested briefly on her back.

“Of course,” Thor promised, chuckling as he ruffled his hair. “Someone has to teach them how to play games with them, though.”

“Not Dagny or Aslaug. Dagny’s boring and Aslaug cheats.” Ragnar was practically vibrating as they made it to the doors of where this dinner supposedly was. He grinned as he looked back over at them and opening the door. “Surprise!”

The second that he opened the door, a loud cheer exploded.

Jane froze in surprise, her hand holding tightly onto Thor’s. Nanna jumped out of Thor’s arms and ran into the room, drawing the high-pitched squeals of young girls a second later. She was surprised to see her mom and Selvig and Darcy, even Sora a bit away from everyone, a small smile on her face.

She didn’t know what was going on, but Jane immediately relaxed when she saw the beaming grin that split Thor’s face apart. “It’s a wedding feast,” he said softly when he gestured at what appeared to be a stuffed boar in the middle of the table. “It’s a tradition on Asgard. It symbolizes the acceptance of the marriage and the unity of families.”

Jane’s heart nearly broke, and she couldn’t help but smile as she looked back over at them. She squeezed Thor’s hand tightly. “This means a lot to you, doesn’t it?”

“More than I could ever say. But this is as much for you as for me.” Thor squeezed his hand, pausing when he saw who sat at the head table, where Jane’s own mother was.

She couldn’t deny that no matter how much tension might exist between them, for her heritage and for the fact that she had been what drew Thor back to Earth, Jane was beyond relieved to see Odin in the room, his implicit blessing for this marriage and their child evident.

Jane’s eyes met Odin’s one, and her father-in-law briefly raised his glass directly to her. Nanna jumped up onto the table, stretching when the Allfather scratched her back.

She could only smile as she took Thor’s hand and tugged him in. Even if raising a child of two worlds would be difficult, it was clear enough they were not alone in it.

For tonight, that was enough.

 

* * *

 

Sigyn arrived back in Italy hours after Thor, Jane, and the others left for Asgard.

She was shaken. She knew that she could not run forever from the life she’d left behind. But she knew that she had made the right choice, not just for herself. No matter how much she missed her parents, she could not face them. Not just yet. Not when it meant that she would have to let others in on the secret she’d been keeping.

But what had happened on the  _Lerna_  haunted her. She had worked willingly with Fury, but to see that SHIELD had held a young boy for months, hadn’t been able to protect him enough from being taken by HYDRA… that was too much.

Not to mention the fact that she had lied to Thor. Again and again and again. She was tired of it.

Sigyn was tired of all of it.

There was a bonfire lit at the house when the car Stark hired dropped her off at the vineyard. Val’s grandniece and grandnephews were running around with sparklers, laughing easily. She was briefly reminded of herself years ago, of her and Thor and Loki as children.

Things were simpler then. But they couldn’t go back now.

“Everything taken care of?” Val asked when she saw Sigyn approach. She gestured at the empty glass near her, and Sigyn shook her head.

“Thor and the others are on Asgard now,” she mentioned, not sitting down. Instead, her eyes flickered to the guest house where she’d been staying. “They’ll likely remain there until the baby comes.” Her gaze turned to Fury, who sat next to Val. “The Abomination is dead.”

He didn’t even look surprised at the mention of the Abomination. “Good.” Fury shrugged before downing his own drink. “World’s a bit safer.”

“How did HYDRA get him, Nick?” Sigyn’s voice was hard as she glared at him.

She’d seen what Donnie had looked like, the terror on his face that he could be turned into a puppet with a few words. She’d heard the briefings that had gone on while they had been on the NATO ship with the Greek agent. HYDRA found Donnie while SHIELD quarantined him following the accident that caused his powers. HYDRA had found Dimitria on their own, but the Abomination and Donnie had both been in SHIELD custody.

And Fury had been SHIELD. If she was to trust Fury with her secret, Sigyn needed answers.

Fury sighed before saying, “Through the rats in the ship. Not all of them went down with it. I’m sure at least a few were there.”

“And Donnie Gill?” Sigyn took a step forward, glaring at Nick. Val sighed and stood up, calling something in Italian to the children that immediately had them running back to the house.

Val was smart enough to know that this would not be a pretty discussion. Fury seemed to have realized that at this point as well.

“A mess of a situation that caused the death of another student at the sci-tech academy. HYDRA took advantage of it, clearly.” Fury stood up, glaring at her before saying, “Gill didn’t know how to control his powers. The Sandbox went dark the second HYDRA rose up. If I had known-“

“You didn’t know anything about it. You knew nothing about HYDRA.” Sigyn scoffed as she looked back over at him and asked, “What did Loki say to your agent? That she lied and killed in the service of liars and killers? It seems he was right.”

“You want to bring up Loki again? I’ll tell you now what I told you then-“

“That I was an asset with intelligence, and then a leverage point,” Sigyn snapped. The look on Fury’s face made her smile, tilting her head as she watched him. “I’m sorry, was I not supposed to read between the lines back then?”

Val looked sharply at Sigyn at the second statement. “Nick, why do I have the feeling I am going to hate what I’m about to hear?” she demanded, her voice more long-suffering than angry.

“He never told you?” Sigyn asked, unable to keep a laugh from her throat as she looked at Fury. “You want to tell her or should I?”

Fury sighed, rubbing his temple before saying, “You think she didn’t already know? She was on the World Security Council back then.”

“Not all the details. She knew I existed, sure. She probably wondered where I was during New York. It’s not your style to tell someone everything. Can’t lose secrets if you don’t know them, right?” Sigyn raised an eyebrow at Fury, who only gave along-suffering sigh.

Val reached for the bottle of wine across the table. “I think I’ll need this.”

Sigyn kept her glare steady on Fury. “When I arrived on Earth, you kept me safe for intel, and then when my former lover came down and attacked your organization, you used me as leverage under the guise of being safe,” she said, her voice hard. “You chose not to use me against Loki because you thought your Avengers would stop him – and because you knew Thor would turn against you the second he knew you were holding me hostage.”

“I chose not to use you because I didn’t believe Loki would stop even if he knew you were there,” Fury replied, his voice a bit harder. “And because even if he knew who else was here on Earth, he wouldn’t stop. He didn’t stop when his brother was here. Why would you have been any different?”

Sigyn didn’t have an answer to that. She had tried to find them in her heart for so long.

_Because if you had known, you would have stopped him._

Thor might have thought that, but Sigyn truly did not know if that was the truth anymore. Her beliefs of truth had gone out the window when the man she loved had fallen from the bridge and died twice in front of his brother. Everything Sigyn thought as a solid fact had faded to dust.

“He’s dead,” Sigyn said, her voice hard. “Loki is  _dead_. There is no point in thinking of what he might have done or might not had he known you were holding me hostage.”

“You weren’t a hostage.” Fury sounded almost tired as he sighed and looked back at her. “You know damned well you weren’t.”

“Because you and Clay both knew I would have killed Clay the second that you threatened either of us. Don’t pretend that keeping us safe was out of the kindness of your heart. You wanted information on Asgard. When Loki appeared, you wanted leverage on him but you chose not to use it.”

“Would you rather I have shown up with you right in the middle of it?” Fury deadpanned, rolling his eye again as he took another deep breath, struggling to keep calm. “I went after you in DC to make sure you were out of the fire.”

“Don’t pretend you offered me sanctuary out of the kindness of your heart, Nick. You offered it to me so HYDRA couldn’t us me.”

“No one’s motives are completely pure, Sigyn. That’s something I thought you would have learned damned well by now.” Fury shook his head. “You’re not that naïve.”

Sigyn scoffed, glaring back at him as she shook her head. “I have compromised so much in the last three years. I am tired of it. I am tired of compromising everything for safety. Say you were helping me, pretend I was not a hostage, pretend that you did not put Clay’s life at risk if you decided to let Loki know that you had me – I’m done compromising, Nick.”

She had to make a stand. Sigyn had to get out of there. She was so tired of compromising and being complicit in SHIELD’s intel and everything else.

“I know you mentioned a villa in Portugal,” Sigyn said to Val, looking back at her. “And that I would be welcome there. I would appreciate it greatly if I could stay there for safety. Please.”

Nick opened his mouth to speak, but fell silent when Val stepped forward and pressed a hand to his back. “Nick, let it end,” Val said, her voice soft as she looked back over. “I can get a private plane together for tomorrow. Please allow me to accompany you there.”

She wanted to say no. She wanted to cut ties with Fury and Val and the dark prices she’d paid the last few years completely. But Sigyn was smart enough to know that she might need Val or Fury someday. And she knew that they would need her.

Sigyn was done with lies. With Loki’s, with Fury’s, and with her own. She only hoped that the people hurt could forgive her, whenever that happened.

“I would appreciate that greatly,” Sigyn said, her voice icy cold as she looked back at Fury. “If you excuse me, I need to prepare myself and pack my belongings.”

She turned on her heel and walked away. Sigyn refused to look back, keeping her shoulders steady as she came down the small hill that lead to the guest house. The door was unlocked, and Sigyn turned off the baby monitor that sat on the table by the door. The lock clicked behind her, and she broke.

A deep and shuddering breath slipped past her throat, turning into a sob as her back hit the door. She slumped slowly, crouched down as she struggled to pull herself together.

When Frigga had helped her flee to Midgard in the aftermath of Loki’s fall, Sigyn had been desperate and afraid. If the wrong people had known the truth, a life more precious to Sigyn than her own, then it would have been forfeit. She would have lost anything.

She did not trust Asgard or anyone associated with Odin, in that aftermath. Not even Thor. The discussions she’d had with him now, she knew that had been a mistake. Thor was far more Frigga’s son than Odin, more than even he would ever know. She’d made her choices; she would have to live with the consequences.

 When she managed to pull herself together, Sigyn took a deep breath. She had to hide again. She’d run away from Asgard, and now she had to run from Italy. She had to protect what was sacred to her.

The redhead moved into the quiet bedroom next to her own. A salt lamp glowed orange in the middle, casting the room in a warm light. A small bed rested against the far wall, an arm chair on the other side of the bedside table.

And in the bed was a little girl, not more than two or three years old.

Sigyn sighed and sat on the chair, watching the little girl sleep quietly. For long, silent minutes she watched her, sighing before reaching out and stroking her long-dark hair. That was her life in the bed right there, the one thing she would protect above anything else, anyone else, above herself or Thor or anyone.

The little girl whined as she woke up. Her eyes opened slowly, and Sigyn’s heart broke once more at the blue-green color that once belonged to the man she loved.

“Mama? You home?” the little girl mumbled, yawning as she reached out for her.

Sigyn gave a soft smile before picking her up easily, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I’m home, Freya,” she promised simply, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “And I’m not going anywhere. I promise, love.”

Her daughter only yawned and cuddled into her arms, black hair mixing with her copper strands. As Sigyn blinked back a few tears, she only prayed that she could protect the little girl in her arms from the lies of Fury, herself, and the father she would never know.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah. Sigyn's been hiding a few things. Surprise!
> 
> As Volstagg's wife and children are unnamed in The Dark World, I went ahead and called them Gyna, Ragnar, Aslaug, and Dagny, thereby bringing in my Vikings obsession and Dragon Age obsession all in one.
> 
> The next chapter will be heading into the endgame, including a certain birth.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sora meets Sif. Thor and Jane meet their baby.

Nearly a week after their arrival on Asgard, Sora’s favorite place were the serenity gardens that Thor’s father had built for his mother as a wedding present.

It was quiet there. Typically, the only noise was the flowing of the fountain, the occasional hum of the breeze between the trees. Sora spent most of the last few days there, watching into the water, trying whatever meditations she’d learned in Paris. Thor had tried to help, but his duties were split between what he had missed on Asgard, the impending birth of the baby, and stopping Jill from antagonizing Odin too much.

Personally, Sora thought Odin deserved it. And if someone had called Ingrid a goat once upon a time, she would have done far worst than give constant passive-aggressive comments.

But that might have been Sora’s unsteady thoughts. She’d been off center since she’d touched that staff, since she’d willing grabbed it to use against Masters. Every negative thought and emotion she’d had in the last few decades resurfaced. All the anger and resentment towards her father, the frustration at not knowing the truth, her hatred and fear of HYDRA… all were rising.

She hadn’t lied to Jane when she said she had put her resentment of her father past her. She truly though she had. Sora thought she had moved on from that anger.

She hadn’t.

Sora was still drowning in it as much as she had decades ago. And all it had taken was a fucking staff to show her how much she’d been lying to herself. And there was nothing she hated more than to realize that she had not moved on from her past the way she thought.

Her hand curled against the rock of the fountain, and she dimly felt the bits dig into her skin. The rock shattered like glass beneath her finger, like it was nothing.

“Lady Sora?”

Sora looked up sharply when she heard the voice, stiffening. Her hand released the rock, and tiny bits of the stone clattered to the ground. A few specks of blood dropped down, and Sora took a deep breath to push back any bit of anger and rage she felt.

The little girl that stood there hesitated, her brown eyes widening as she looked her over. Sora took a deep breath as she moved to her feet. She’d refused to wear the Asgardian dresses, but the Lady Sif had donated her own clothing to Sora. The breaches and tunic were comfortable at least, and the fact that there were sleeveless allowed Sora to continue to check her healing bruises and puncture wounds.

She paused for a brief second, forcing herself to push away any negative thought she had, yet again. There was a little girl in front of her that did not deserve to see her struggling, so she instead focused on the fact that she was safe.

“Aslaug, right?” Sora asked, forcing a warm smile as she knelt down in front of her.

The little redhead, Volstagg’s elder daughter, only nodded, curtsying carefully as she looked back up at her. “Uh huh,” she said, biting her lip as she looked back at her. “Auntie Sif wanted me to find you. She wants to talk to you in the training yard. I can take you there.”

Sora paused, a bit taken aback. She had met the Lady Sif briefly. Thor had mentioned once or twice that she reminded him of her. And she’d willingly donated her own clothes when Sora said she was uncomfortable in the dresses. But she did not have an idea why Sif would seek her out now. But she wasn’t about to say no to the little girl in front of her.

“Lead the way then, Aslaug,” she said, smiling quietly down at the little girl.

The little girl’s brown eyes lit up, and she grinned, hurrying to the doorway. She paused there, waiting for Sora to catch up before leading the way. They were barely halfway down the first corridor when the little girl looked back up at her, clearly dying to ask a question.

“Are you a Valkyrie, Lady Sora?” Aslaug asked. “Papa says you’re not. But Mama says you’re a warrior in different ways.”

Sora paused before shaking her head. “I am not a Valkyrie, no. Though my grandfather told me many stories of them.”

“I wanna be a Valkyrie, but there’s no more of them.” Aslaug bit her lip as she shook her head and says, “Uncle Thor says I can restart them. I’m gonna do that.”

“And I’m sure you will.” Sora winked at her before saying, “When I fought on Earth, people called me the Berserker though. After my father.”

“Ragnar wanted to be a berserker, but when he tried to break a plate, he cut himself.” Sora snorted despite herself, and Aslaug’s face lit up when she realized that she’d gotten Sora to laugh. “And then Mama yelled at him.”

“I’m sure that she did.” Sora reached out and ruffled Aslaug’s red hair.

The training yard was down a few stairwells and in what almost a cavern. Sif was training with a reddish-haired man. If she remembered right, that was Tyr, the Commander of the Einherjar and Sigyn’s own father. They looked similar, with dark copper hair and the same sharp dark eyes.

“I found her, Auntie Sif!” Aslaug called, pausing before curtsying again. “Commander Tyr.”

The older man chuckled softly, ruffling her hair. “Hello, Aslaug.” His eyes moved to Sora, and he nodded respectfully to her. “Lady Sora.”

Sora nodded politely, her eyes moving to Sif. Tyr made an excuse to Aslaug, and he and the little girl headed away minutes later. Sora and Sif were left alone within moments, and the blond half-Asgardian turned to the dark-haired woman warrior.

“I’m not completely sure why you wanted to see me,” Sora admitted. Any bit of politeness was destroyed by her somewhat wary suspicion. She didn’t belong here. Sora was an outsider.

“Thor asked me to,” Sif replied simply, raising an eyebrow back at her as she moved to pick up her own sword, twirling it easily. Sora watched her carefully. “And to be honest, I was curious to meet you as well.” Sif looked back. “Thor called you a warrior. And he said that you controlled a Berserker staff.”

Everything always came back to that damned staff.

“I don’t understand why everyone is so obsessed about this damned staff and me holding it,” Sora admitted. Her tone was sharp, and she took a deep breath. “The HYDRA bastard forced me to touch it, and then I used it against him. That was his own damned fault.”

“His mistake was assuming you could not control it. You did. And that staff is something many Asgardians today could not control.” Sif took a step towards her before saying, “You’re a warrior. That much is clear. And you can control a very dangerous, enchanted weapon. That, Sora, is significant.”

Sora scoffed, taking a deep breath before looking back towards the castle up above. “I don’t know if it is or not,” she pointed out, looking back. “I’ve only started to learn about Asgard in the last few months. I don’t know if it’s significant because I don’t know what I am completely, even now.”

“I can’t help with that part. But what I can help with is making sure you know your choices.” Sif paused as she looked back at Sora before gesturing at something that rested against the wall. “Pick it up,” Sif ordered, raising an eyebrow at her.

Sora frowned before looking to what leaned against the wall – the Berserker staff. She stiffened slightly when she saw it before looking sharply back at Sif. The warrior woman merely raised an eyebrow back at her, waiting patiently.

“I don’t want that damned thing,” Sora said, her tone sharp. “I just want to be done.”

Sif sighed as she looked back at her and explained, “Sora. Do you want me to be blunt with you?”

“I don’t think I have a choice in this.”

Sif pressed on, because Sora of course had been right. Her feelings towards the staff, her heritage, everything that had happened in the past few months, were all clouded. And it would take time to figure out where to go from there.

“You’re treating that staff, your heritage, as a snake about to bite you. You are turning it into something to fear.” Sif took a step forward, and Sora swallowed heavily. But she stood her ground, lifting her chin as she met Sif’s eyes. “This is half of you, Sora. Your introduction thus far to your heritage has not been smooth. But this is not something to fear. Because what I think you fear isn’t that staff, or what it brings up – what you’re afraid of is half of yourself.”

She hated Asgardians. She really did. Because Thor and Sigyn and now fucking Sif all seemed to have a talent of hitting sensitive spots she wanted to avoid. But Sora knew that she was right. And that was why she couldn’t say a word for a few moments.

“I won’t be corrupted by that fucking staff,” Sora said, her voice hard as she looked back over at her. “I know I can use it. I know it recognizes me or accepts me or thinks I’m worthy like Thor’s hammer does him, but…”

“How do you expect to control it if you avoid it?” Sif asked bluntly.

She had a point there. As much as Sora hated to admit it.

Sora took a deep breath, closing her eyes before moving forward to the staff, staring down at it. “Why are you and Thor so obsessed with this?” she demanded, looking back over. “What does Thor want?”

“Thor wants you to be able to handle what you’ve been through,” Sif explained. She tugged her sword into two separate ones. “You’re a warrior. A fighter. And if you have an advantage in a world that is frankly dangerous… then it should be used.”

“And my father won’t touch it again.”

“From what Thor told me? No, he will not. But HYDRA will come after you again. I don’t need to encounter anyone involved in that cult to know that fact. And you know that as well as I do.”

HYDRA was alive. She knew that. HYDRA was alive and knew that she was alive, and Reinhardt might be going after her. There was logic behind that. Sora would not be turned into a prisoner, an experiment again. She refused to let that happen.

Sora moved forward and closed her eyes. A moment later, her hand reached out and grabbed the staff.

She cried out briefly. She’d been unprepared this time. The energy swirled inside of her. The anger and pain threatened to drown her again. It was like she was touching it for the first time again, trapped in that interrogation room. She had grabbed it after, desperate to fight for herself and to protect Thor, to fight against Masters.

It was too much. She couldn’t hold on.

“Swim. Don’t drown in it.” Sif’s voice sounded almost a thousand miles away.

Pain was nothing new. Anger was nothing new. They were emotions that she’d had daily for decades. She could survive this. She was stronger than the emotions this staff brought up inside her.

Sora was stronger than the feelings this staff exhumed.

Her eyes snapped open as she grabbed ahold of her emotions, flashing orange briefly before she looked back at Sif. She twirled the staff briefly, and she blinked in surprise. She didn’t drop the staff. The staff felt almost warm against her skin, and she watched the runes glow orange.

“It was easier that time,” Sora whispered, genuinely surprised.

“It should be.” Sif gestured at the staff before explaining, “You’re getting used to it. That means now, if you want to use it, you can’t stop now. You cannot be afraid of it.” She twirled her swords before saying, “Now, let’s make sure you can use it.”

Sora paused, looking back down at the staff. She couldn’t stop the little smirk that crossed her face as she looked back at Sif. “I won’t lie, this part might be fun,” Sora admitted.

“Well, a fight usually is.” Sif smiled back at her before saying, “If you wish to drop it and walk away, you know you have that choice. But I don’t think you won’t to, do you?”

The half-Asgardian didn’t answer. Instead, she readjusted her grip on the staff and looked back at Sif, tilting her chin up. “Let’s dance,” Sora said simply.

Sif smiled at the challenge and lunged forward.

Sora raised the staff in time, grunting as she rolled back, bringing the staff up in an offensive move. She went directly for Sif’s legs, though the warrior woman managed to jump over the blow. Sora couldn’t help the grin that crossed her face, even as Sif very nearly hit her neck with a blade.

This was what she was good at. This fight, this spar, and Sora knew that whatever Thor might have wanted Sif to do, Sif had been able to figure out how best to help her.

And that, perhaps, was enough to convince Sora that embracing her heritage might be her only choice, if she wanted to protect herself and the ones she cared about.

Sora grunted as she went down hard, breathing heavily before picking up the staff again. There was that rush of anger and pain, but Sora handled it easier. It was lower than before. Her eyes flashed orange again, and Sora looked back up at Sif, taking the hand offered to her.

“I think part of it is because I was always so scared.” The words flowered out of her before she could stop them. Sora took a deep breath before saying, “I was afraid of HYDRA. Of my heritage. Of everything. Maybe I don’t have to be afraid anymore.”

Maybe that was why she felt this anger and pain still. She’d had decades of not knowing who she was. Briefly, Sora wondered if Jane’s aunt would accept new patients when they got back to Earth. She wasn’t going to be able to handle this with just the staff.

“Maybe you don’t,” Sif agreed, giving a smile. “There is enough to fear in the world without fearing yourself.”

Sora nodded in agreement before twirling the staff. “Another round?” she asked, smiling quietly as she looked at Sif.

Sif smirked. “Of course. And Sora?”

“Yes?”

“Happy birthday.” The Asgardian made the first move, and Sora countered, for the first time in years feeling lighter, less stressed, and not drowning in her own pain.

There were worst ways to mark your ninety-fourth year.

 

* * *

For the first time in a long while, things seemed to be calming down.

Jane’s health remained stable. The baby was still kicking and still strong. Since she’d started training with Sif a few weeks earlier, Sora seemed almost happier and lighter, more like the woman she’d been before her second captivity with HYDRA. Darcy was causing chaos, and Jill was antagonizing Odin, but Thor felt relaxed for the first time in a long while.

At least until he entered this conversation with his father.

“My child will not take the throne unless they choose.”

Thor knew this conversation was coming. He’d refused to take the throne upon when his father had offered. It was funny, in some ways. He’d been desperate to become King of Asgard in what had felt like a lifetime ago. But now he was more than content with his lot in life.

And now, Odin wanted him to take the throne, and Thor still refused. But Thor would soon not be the only heir to the royal family of Asgard. Very soon, there would be another.

And Thor was more than prepared to protect his child from undertaking duties that they would not be ready for, duties that they might not even want.

Odin sighed, sat on the throne in question. “It is their birthright,” he pointed out simply. “And with your refusal to take the throne, your child becomes the only viable heir.”

“My child will be an infant, Father, and you are not so close to death.” Thor shook his head before pointing out, “I refused to take the throne before I believe I do far more good in the world than I could sitting there. That does not mean that I won’t take it someday, Father.”

That was something he’d never spoken out loud about. As much as Thor knew that he did better work outside of there, he knew that someday, he might not have a choice. He and Jane had never spoken of it, but it was there in the background, along with the fact that Jane would more likely than not be dead in a century, that Thor would outlive their child, that he would someday more likely than not return to Asgard for good.

But that was not today. He had time. And he would not return to Asgard for good until those he loved on Earth were gone.

Thor took a deep breath, closing his eyes. “Jane and I will return to Midgard upon our child’s birth,” he said simply, looking back over. “We’ll visit Asgard often. But Father – if my child wishes to take the throne, they will when they are old enough. But it must be their choice. Not your influence, nor mine and Jane’s.”

He wanted better for his child than he had. And the pressures of the throne, of being constantly held ono a pedestal… that was a danger Thor knew well. It had taken him nearly losing everything to gain humility.

And Thor would not let history repeat with his child.

“I do not intend to interfere with the parenting of your own child, Thor.” Odin looked exhausted, older than even his extensive years. He’d looked that way since Frigga had died. “But-“

There was movement and sounds coming behind them, and Thor looked up sharply. Not many would dare interrupt their conversation, so if someone was coming, it could mean nothing good. Thor’s hand moved to Mjolnir at his belt, and he took a deep breath, prepared for whatever might come.

He wasn’t ready for what came.

Jane came into the main hall through a side hallway, her arm around her stomach. Jill was next to her, her face pale. She was speaking quietly with Jane, supporting her. His mother-in-law looked up when she saw him, her face softening in relief as she kept close to her daughter. She did give a brief glare to Odin, which almost amused his father.

Jane’s eyes were wide, her face was pale, and Thor was moving to his wife before either could say a word. “What is it?” he demanded, moving his hand to her face, cupping it gently. “You’re pale.”

Her hand moved up to his, squeezing it gently. “We need to call Eir and get me back to the room. Now. Because you’re not missing this.”

Her voice was steady. Calm. Accepting. But it still took a moment for Thor to realize what she meant, why there was a small bit of wetness under Jane’s feet, why Jill looked torn between excitement and fear, why Jane looked ready to go to battle.

“It’s time?” It took him a few moments to find his voice, and he stare down at her. “Jane, are you saying…”

“It’s time,” Jane confirmed. Her eyes flickered to Odin, but she kept calm and refocused her attention on Thor. “It’s time. The baby’s coming.”

“It’s too early.” This couldn’t be right. Jane wasn’t due for nearly a month. There was no way that it was time for their child to be born. “You’re not due for another month at least-“

“Yeah, try telling the baby that,” Jane replied. She winced heavily as her hand pressed against her stomach. The other hand held tightly onto Thor’s arm, desperately trying to keep herself on her feet. “Because it’s coming now.”

Jill moved back to her daughter, and she took a deep breath, smoothing back Jane’s hair. “It’s normal,” she assured her. “Babies and due dates are more like guidelines for them. And you look like you’re eleven months pregnant anyway.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Jane muttered, wincing.

Thor didn’t hesitate to move Jane carefully in his arms, readjusting her carefully. “We’re ready,” Thor assured her. He pressed a kiss against her head, and he looked back over towards Jill, who lead the way to his and Jane’s rooms. “We’re ready for this, Jane. I promise.”

“I will send Eir to your chambers,” Odin mentioned as he stepped down from his throne. Jill moved so she was almost between Jane and Odin, and the Allfather paused before shooting a genuine nod towards Jane. “I wish you luck. Eir will help with anything you need.”

Jane squeezed his hand tightly, and Thor knew that there was no going back now.

* * *

 

Eir had come as quickly as she could, and Jane was struggling hard to stay calm. What freaked her out the most was that she was due in early August, and it was only mid-July now. She was just hiding it the best she could. Only one of them could handle freaking out at a time.

“More likely than not, the length of your gestation is something as simple as differences between a human pregnancy and Asgardian one,” Eir pointed out, sighing as she helped to get some blankets around her. “How are your contractions?”

“Coming fast,” Jane replied, taking another deep breath. She raised a brow when Nanna the cat jumped up and cuddled into the pillows behind her. “About fifty seconds apart right now…”

“Fast labor,” Jill mentioned, sighing as she sat down next to her daughter, smoothing back her hair. She reached over, starting to pull it into careful into a braid. “Better than mine, I suffered for forty-eight hours.”

Jane managed a weak smile as she leaned her head back, breathing as carefully as possible. She remembered what she’d read online, though she hoped that Asgardian labor would be easier than human labor. She knew that Sora’s mother had passed away during Sora’s birth. But things were different now. She was delivering a child in Asgard itself.

This was not Helga Soren’s labor. She would not suffer that same fate.

Instead of that, Jane focused on everything else. She would get to see Asgardian technology of work. She would get to see some Asgardian traditions.

In a few hours, she would get to meet her baby.

“Thor, the candles are in the drawer in the far wardrobe,” Eir called, helping to tug the skirts of Jane’s dress over. She shot her an apologetic look, but Jane only nodded at her.

“Candles?” Jill asked, looking genuinely curious as she looked back at Eir.

“It’s an Asgardian tradition,” Thor explained as he set three candles on the table within view of Jane. He lit two before carrying the third over, holding it out to Jane before handing her a match. “To honor deceased relatives. Most people light ones for deceased parents. I…”

“You lit ones for your mother and Loki.” She couldn’t be surprised. Thor would more likely than not never stop mourning Loki. He’d worn a piece of Loki’s hair in his own since his fall from the Bifrost. Jane took the match before carefully lighting the third one. “And for Dad.”

Jill took a deep breath, leaning over to kiss her daughter’s head. “He’d be so proud of you,” she promised simply.

Thor moved to her other side, taking a deep breath before kissing her cheek. “We’re ready,” he said.

“You assuring me or yourself?” Jane asked, smiling weakly as she took another breath.

“Who says it can’t be both?” Thor wondered, laughing before leaning to kiss her again.

She’d once held the Aether inside of her for days. She’d survived something that was as old as the universe itself. She could handle delivering her and Thor’s child. She could do this.

It was long. And it was hard. And Jane truly wondered if maybe holding the Aether had been easier. But she held on. She pushed when she was supposed to. Thor held her hand the entire time and did not leave her a second through the next twelve hours. Her mother wiped the sweat away and whispered encouragement.

And then, after those twelve hours, with one final push, in the middle of the Asgardian night, Jane cried out. When she fell silent, she heard a new cry, loud and strong.

“Oh my god,” Jane said, chocking back tears as she shook her head. “Oh my god…”

Thor gave a disbelieving laugh, leaning down to kiss her fully. “I love you,” he whispered. “I love you so much, you did so well…”

Jane’s eyes finally went in front of her, and she gasped softly as she saw Eir cutting the cord between her legs, a surprisingly large baby in her arms, wrapped in a blanket that Jane recognized as one of the ones Sora knit in the last few months, a smaller one she’d made after finishing the quilt.

This blanket was simpler, but Jane blinked back tears when she realized there were in fact runes on this one, though only two – one for Thor’s name, and one for hers.

The baby was still screaming, and Jane caught sight of pokes from the inside of the blanket, legs kicking furiously. Yeah, that was their baby. Kicking up a storm inside the womb and out.

“Congratulations,” Eir said, smiling softly as she readjusted the baby in her arms. “It’s a boy. You have a son.”

Thor’s face threatened to split completely with the size of his grin. “I knew it,” he said, and Jane couldn’t help but laugh at the smugness of the fact that he had been right. “He is healthy? And Jane?” His hand moved to smooth back her hair.

“He is strong. And you are doing fine as well, Lady Jane.” Eir squeezed her knee, and Jane fell back slightly, breathing deeply. She was okay. She was alright and so was the baby and the fear and terror of the last few days was done for good.

Jill kissed the top of her daughter’s head before reaching out and squeezing Thor’s hand. “I’ll go tell everyone else,” she said, moving carefully to her feet. She had tears in her eyes as she looked at her grandson. “You two spend a few hours. Bond. We’ll all have time to meet him later.

Her mother left the room as Eir moved to put her son in Jane’s arms. Jane could not help but smile softly down at the baby. He was large, that much was clear, but with blue eyes so electric blue that he could have only gotten them from one place. Threads of fine blond hair crowned his head.

And the second he was put into Jane’s arms, he stopped crying.

“He knows you,” Thor murmured, reaching down. His hand curled around his son’s head, and Jane could have sworn she saw tears in his eyes. “He knows us, Jane.”

“He knows his mommy and daddy,” Jane whispered, smiling softly down at her son. Her son. This didn’t feel real. “Hey there, baby,” she whispered, leaning to kiss his forehead. “Welcome to the world. You’re in for a crazy ride.”

But for the first time in her entire pregnancy, she wasn’t worried. For the first time in a year, Jane felt at peace. It might have been insanity. It might have been quick.

But for one moment, with their son in her arms and Thor right there, it was enough for Jane.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eir and Tyr both previously appeared in Thor: The Dark World. They are in fact Sigyn's parents in this continuity. And no, they do not know about Sigyn's secret either. And neither does "Odin".
> 
> The next and final chapter will be up as soon as possible, and then we'll head into the next story.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sora reunites with a loved one. Thor and Jane make moves to the future. Things change, and some pieces move into place.

He was, by far, the most beautiful thing that Thor had ever seen.

No stories the poets could have written, no songs the bards could have sung, and no theories their scholars could have woven lived up to the beauty of his son. He was the most precious thing in the universe. Even when he was covered in vomit and wailing as loud as anyone could hear.

His and Jane’s son was the most precious thing in the universe. And Thor could not help but smile as he looked down at him, even as he shushed him and tried to settle the newborn baby.

Thor could not look away from him. Jane was asleep. She needed rest, after carrying their child for months, for helping to ensure that he was healthy. Now, Thor was more than ready, eager, to care for their child. He hushed their son quietly, rocking him gently after he made sure he was cleaned up.

The blanket Sora made for their son had been washed at least four times in the three days since his birth, but it was clear it would be well loved. Sora was proud that the blanket was used, and Thor was grateful as always that his son would have a family around him.

“It’s alright,” Thor murmured as his son slowly quieted. He rocked him carefully, as he’d seen Jane do. “You’re safe, my boy. You’re safe…”

It had been a long few days since their son was born, but Thor would not have traded it for a second. He loved the little boy in his arms. He loved the woman resting from delivering their son. He wanted nothing less than what he had, his wife and son, and he would never be ungrateful for it.

His son’s whines slowly softened, and Thor smiled in pride. “That’s my boy,” he murmured, kissing his forehead. “Let your mother sleep. She deserves it.”

The mother in question was, in fact, awake. “He’s not going to disappear if you blink.”

Thor couldn’t hold back truly joyful laughter. A tiny hand wrapped around his smallest finger, and bright eyes flickered around, almost meeting his. He knew that his son was too young for that. But Thor thought for a moment that his son’s eyes met his, and that he almost relaxed further into his arms.

“And if I do not wish to miss a moment of his life?” Thor wondered, readjusting his son in his arms before he moved to sit next to Jane in bed.

Jane smiled softly, her face still somewhat pale, exhaustion clear on her face. Three days of rest hadn’t nearly been enough, but Asgard’s healers were helping. Thor handed their baby over only slightly reluctantly, smoothing back Jane’s hair as the human tugged her dress aside to let the baby feed, sighing softly as she leaned back into the pillows.

“Then I might understand that. I’ve never been so tired, but I’m terrified of falling asleep and missing some time with him,” Jane admitted.

“You need your rest, after what you went through.” Thor leaned in and pressed a kiss to her temple, looking back down at their son. “To bring our son into this world.”

“Look, I can’t lie, just calling him our son or the baby is driving me crazy. Are we allowed to name him now?” Jane wondered. “Because I think Mom might kill me soon if we don’t give him an actual name.”

Thor looked to the slightly opened balcony doors, opened to bring some fresh air into the room and allow Nanna the freedom to roam. There was little sign of the approaching dawn, but technically, this would be the third day of their son’s life – the day Asgardians traditionally chose a name for their child. “I believe we are the parents and can choose when we like as well.”

“Good, because we’re naming him. I can’t take it anymore.” Jane reached down and smoothed the baby boy’s hair back. “I want something that won’t be too out of place on Asgard or Earth.”

“Doable. And I would like a name that means something to us.” 

Jane sighed as she looked back down. “Remember when you joked about being Mr. Foster?” Thor nodded slowly. “He’s a child of two worlds. I want him to have both. Not to be both but not understand it like Sora.” She looked at her husband before saying, “I want him to be a Foster on Earth. But Thorson on Asgard. With Thorson as his middle name on Earth.”

“Middle names are not a tradition on Asgard. It works well.” And a part of Thor swelled with pride at the idea of his son carrying his name on both worlds. He reached out, his thumb tracing over his son’s fine blond hair. “But a first name is needed. I did have a few ideas.”

“Shoot, because I have a very small list.” Jane hesitated before admitting, “I can’t do Henry. After my dad. I can’t. Dad was a junior and he absolutely hated it. And he hated his dad. I don’t want to pass that name down when I know how much he hated it.”

Thor wished that he could have known Jane’s father. He’d influenced her so much, and he knew that Jane still missed him terribly. Life wasn’t fair though. If it was, Jane’s father and Thor’s mother would be there to meet their grandson.

The Asgardian paused as he realized that there was someone who had been an almost substitute to Jane as a father. Someone who had kept an eye out for Thor, had become a good friend and a steadfast ally. Someone who had not abandoned them through all the events of the last several years.

Someone who their son would be lucky to share a name with.

“Then another name, perhaps. A name of a man your father respected, a man we respect.” Thor looked at Jane, smiling before asking, “What of Erik?”

“After our Erik?” Jane looked up sharply, her eyes widening. “That’s actually… that actually fits well with Asgard, doesn’t it? It won’t be too out of place. And it’s pretty common on Earth too.” She glanced back down at their son. “Erik Foster…”

“Erik Thorson Foster.” His son’s name sounded perfect to say out loud. Thor couldn’t help but smile. “I like it. Strong, simple. It honors a man who deserves it.” He reached out, smiling softly as his son grabbed onto his finger. “Hello there, Erik…”

“Erik Thorson Foster.” Jane glanced back at her husband before saying, “This is him. This is our baby. Erik Thorson Foster.”

“And so our son is named. I’m sure your mother will scream it from the rooftops of the palace, but I will tell my father his name. Though I would like us together to be the ones to tell Erik our son is named for him.” Thor leaned in, kissing Jane softly. “Have I mentioned how much I love you?”

Jane smiled. “We’ve been kinda focused on the baby.”

“Understandably so. But I love you.”

Jane reached her free hand out. Her thumb rubbed gently over his cheekbone. “Love you too.” She glanced back down at Erik as he finished feeding, moving him carefully to her shoulder. Her other hand reached for a towel. “It’s been a long ride, hasn’t it?”

“That it has.” Thor squeezed her hand tightly before he let it go. “But it has been worth every second. And it is not over yet.”

Erik chose that moment to vomit all over the pillows and Jane’s shoulder. Of course, he’d managed to do it the split second before Jane could readjust the rag. Jane could not help but snort out of partial horror and amusement before looking back at her husband, raising a helpless eyebrow. Erik had even managed to get some of his own vomit on Thor.

Thor could not help the bellowing laugh that came. Their son was wailing, Jane was covered in his vomit, and Thor had barely managed to avoid it, but there was something about that single moment that cut through to Thor’s heart with pure joy.

“You’re enjoying it so much, you can take him,” Jane protested, though she was laughing as well, handing Erik carefully to him. “I need to get washed off. Though he’s probably going to vomit again in a few minutes.”

Yes, it had been worth every second. And whatever came next, Thor knew it would be worth it too.

* * *

 

They returned to Earth in late August, and Sora knew what she had to do first.

She’d never been to the University of Amsterdam. But she knew its layout. She knew exactly what building her office was in, what hallway, what number. Just because she hadn’t seen her daughter in decades didn’t mean that Sora didn’t keep a close eye on her.

But she was tired of letting guilt and anger and fear control her. Sif had taught her that. Sora intended to listen.

Sora paused outside of the office door, taking a deep breath. She was not ready to see Elliott Randolph. She knew that she had to take small steps. But the anger and rage she wanted to focus on was the part that she felt towards herself, for the fear that her daughter would resent her.

“Do you want me to stay in the hall?” Darcy asked quietly. “I can come in if you want.”

Darcy came with her out of support, and Sora knew that she was lucky to have the people in her life. Granted, this was possibly for her as well, an escape from London. Darcy and Ian had broken up, but this fight seemed to be different. Darcy seemed determine to move on, and had been focusing since their arrival back from Asgard on finishing her degree.

Things were changing. The world was changing. They most of all with it.

“Yes,” Sora said softly. “I need to do this alone.”

Darcy nodded and squeezed her shoulder. “I’ll go grab us coffee, okay?” She walked away a few moments later, looking over her shoulder at Sora as she did so.

Sora summoned her courage and knocked on the door.

The white-haired woman sitting at the desk had a striking resemblance to Sora’s grandmother. They had the same elegant, ageless grace. Sora’s eyes flickered to the futon on the other side of the room. Sure enough, as Thor once mentioned, the blanket she’d put her daughter in before hiding her away was there, well-worn and well loved.

“Can I help you?” Ingrid frowned, not even looking over to her yet.

Sora’s heart rose to her throat. “Ingrid.”

Her daughter froze. She was still beautiful, even if Sora now appeared to be her granddaughter. Ingrid’s eyes, bright and identical to Sora’s own, moved up, and she stared at her. There was a clear understanding as she recognized her, and a hand moved to Ingrid’s mouth.

“Mother?” Ingrid whispered. “What…”

Sora stood there, shaking her head before saying, “I’m sorry for surprising you. I-“ She choked back a sob as she looked at her. “I’ve been running too long though.”

Ingrid didn’t say a word. Instead, she moved to her feet and hurried to Sora. To the half-Asgardian’s surprise, she hugged her tightly, not letting go.

She couldn’t have stopped the tears if she had tried. And nothing, not Odin himself, not the Red Skull, not even Werner fucking Reinhart, could have stopped Sora from hugging the daughter she had not seen in far too long.

“You-“ Ingrid blinked back her own tears, tugging off her glasses and putting them down. “You haven’t aged a day.“ She shook her head. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

“I’m sorry,” Sora whispered. She wiped her tears on her sleeve as she said, “You were safe. And… I found you, two years after Tonsberg. But you were happy. You had a family. I couldn’t take you away from them.”

Ingrid swallowed heavily as she sat down on the couch. Sora sat next to her. “I didn’t understand completely until I had my children,” she admitted as she looked back at her. “I thought that you could have stayed with me, down in that basement. But then I realized… nothing is simple when it comes to your children.”

And wasn’t that the truth of it. Sora’s first thought had been to ensure the safety of her daughter. The next had been to do her duty as a Soren. She would never regret making sure Ingrid was safe. And she would never regret walking away. She’d known Ingrid was happy. That was what mattered.

“The only thing I cared about was that you were safe. And happy.” Sora hesitated. “And what happened to me in HYDRA… I was not capable of taking care of you.”

Her daughter, beautiful and grown and someone she was so proud of, reached out and beamed at her. “I’m glad you came though.” She shook her head before saying, “Randolph visited me a few months back, when you all went to Asgard. He admitted the truth. All of it.”

Sora swallowed. She didn’t want to hear about him. But she knew that she needed to. “You deserved to know it far before now.”

“You didn’t know it until a decade ago. That is not on you.” Ingrid squeezed her hand tightly. “I know he regrets it. And I know he wishes to see you. But he will not seek you out until you reach for him. In the meantime… I would love for you to meet my family. Our family.”

Her family. She had grandchildren. Great-grandchildren. People that had her blood, that had Asgard’s blood as well. Ingrid’s appearance made it clear that her aging, while halted, was more advanced than Sora’s. It would be diluted more every generation.

Deep down, the part of Sora that still considered herself cursed by immortality was relieved by that.

“I would like that,” Sora said softly, nodding quietly. “I just… I’m so sorry. That I didn’t come sooner.”

“That’s not important,” Ingrid refuted, shooting her a look. “I am just glad you’ve found some peace. And… and you are here now. That is what matters most.”

Sora looked down, smiling softly. “The last few months, finding out what I am, have helped. I have friends. Family of choice. And now I guess, family of blood.”

Ingrid squeezed her hand. “The arc of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb. Family is who you love. No matter your relation. Though I am very glad to have you back in my life.”

And though she might have never admitted it to Thor, Sora was very glad that he’d tracked her down on the street in Paris. No matter how much pain had followed, at HYDRA’s hands and due to the staff she now had learned to trust with her life, it had been worth it. She had a family. She had people who loved her.

For the first time in her ninety-four years of life, even with a weapon that used every bit of her anger and rage, Sora felt almost completely at peace.

Of course, that was until the door opened with another visitor for Ingrid. Then Sora decided that maybe it hadn’t all been worth it.

“Ingrid? We’re going to miss our reservations if you don’t-“

The three of them froze. Sora stared at the man in the doorway of her seventy-something year old daughter’s office. Ingrid froze when she realized her long-living mother would find out she was dating.

And Erik Selvig froze as he stared at Sora and realized that whatever clandestine relationship he’d been developing with a fellow academic was officially out of the bag.

“No,” Sora said bluntly.

Ingrid rolled her eyes. “Mother. I’m in my seventies. I have three children, I’ve dated and married before. I’ve been widowed for a decade.” She moved up and kissed Sora’s cheek before heading behind her desk. “I am allowed to date.”

“Nope.” Sora shook her head, rubbing her temples. “No, no, no, no, no. When did this even start?” She gestured at Selvig. “When did you have time to even talk to her?! We’ve been on Asgard for months!”

Selvig looked faintly insulted. “I am capable of working a computer, you know. Email exists. And this is the first… well, official date.” He exchanged a look with Ingrid, who looked decided more amused at that point as she tugged a cardigan around her shoulders. “I didn’t know that she would be here…” His eyes widened. “Oh. Darcy’s here with you too, isn’t she?”

“No, listen to me,” Sora said, her voice hard as she looked back over at Selvig. “You are not allowed to date my daughter. Do you hear me? All of our relationships are weird enough as it is.”

“Your daughter is almost eighty years old,” Selvig pointed out.

“Her dating has nothing to do with it, it’s the fact that…” Sora groaned as she rubbed her temples. “I hate him. I hate him so much for making this such a weird situation. I hate him for making me look in my mid-twenties and my daughter my own mother.”

“Randolph?” Ingrid asked, clearly amused. “Is that who you hate?”

“I will hit him in the face with the staff the next time I see him.”

Sora groaned, looking up when she heard the familiar click of ankle boots coming down the hallway. Darcy arrived at that moment, two paper cups of coffee in hand and a frown on her face. Her jaw dropped when she saw Selvig there, looking back over towards Sora and Ingrid in turn.

“Um, did I miss something?” Darcy asked slowly, edging past Selvig. “Hey, Erik…”

Erik closed his eyes, clearly resigned to the fact that this would be a long day. “Hello, Darcy.”

“Erik is dating my daughter, apparently,” Sora replied, tugging a hand through her hair as she shook her head. “And I feel like my mind is about to break from it.”

“Hey, way to go, Erik! Get on it!” Darcy grinned at Selvig before winking over at Ingrid. Then a thought passed over her face. Darcy’s eyes widened as she looked back over at Erik. “Oh my god. Sora might be your future mother-in-law.”

“Darcy, you’re making this worse,” Erik warned when he saw the look on Sora’s face.

“This is amazing,” Darcy cackled, shaking her head as she looked back over at Sora. “C’mon, they’re kinda cute together.”

“Why thank you.” Ingrid winked at Darcy before squeezing Sora’s hand. “I will call you soon. I promise. We’ll arrange a trip to Rotterdam to meet everyone.” She smiled charmingly at Darcy before moving and putting her arm through Selvig’s. “Now, Erik, I believe we have reservations. Mother, Darcy, if you two could lock up behind you…”

Selvig sighed and looked up at the ceiling. “Goodbye, Darcy, Sora.”

“Hey,” Darcy called. “Show some more respect, that’s your future mother-in-law.”

Darcy barely managed to avoid the thrown paperback book Sora tossed her way, and Ingrid laughed the entire walk out of the building. Sora shook her head, groaning as she looked back over at Darcy.

“When did this become my life?” she demanded, shaking her head. “When did my daughter start dating? What even is this situation?”

The brunette only smirked before putting her own arm through Sora’s. “C’mon. Let’s go drink to help me with my breakup and you with your brain breaking.”

And that, exactly, was why Sora realized she was friends with Darcy Lewis. “Sometimes, you do have good ideas.”

“Please, they’re always good. Now c’mon, let’s go before you start having mental images of them doing the deed.”

Sora hated Darcy Lewis.

 

* * *

 

In mid-October, Thor was called back to the States.

It was nearly ten at night, but they were awake, sitting in the backyard of Jane’s mother’s house. Erik, already growing bigger and evidently taking after his father in regards to size, was three months old now. He was sat on Darcy’s lap, staring in fascination at the bright necklace Darcy had on. He was a vocal baby, constantly making sounds that delighted them to no end.

Motherhood was everything and nothing Jane expected. She and Thor were staying at Jill’s house for convenience, and Jill was a godsend – helpful but not hovering, giving advice but not considering it the end-all be all advice of parenthood.

Jane sipped at her tea as she and Darcy chatted in the firelight. Nanna watched all from her perch in Jane’s lap, tail flickered from side to side. The cat jumped up a few seconds before Thor arrived, as if sensing the fact that something was wrong. The cat was smart, that much was clear, and Jane had learned to listen to him by now.

The look on Thor’s face when he came back to the backyard made it obvious enough that something was wrong. His phone was crushed in his hands, and the very distant sound of thunder his her ears.

Jane sat up, frowning before looking back. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

Thor took a deep breath. “Phil Coulson is alive.”

Darcy’s jaw dropped, and Jane stared blankly at him. There was no way. Thor had explained what had happened, that Coulson had been killed by Loki in front of him. Thor had been carrying that death for over two years now. He’d blamed himself for it. Even she and Darcy had grieved for Coulson, despite the bad beginning they had.

Jane shook her head. “I thought Loki-“

“Yes.”

“But he’s-“

“Yes.”

“Wait, back up,” Darcy said, looking back over. “Someone called you and told you Coulson is alive? You sure they’re right? You believe them?”

“Yes. And I do believe them when it is Tony Stark who tells me.” Thor took a deep breath. “Apparently it is quite a tale. Captain Rogers has found his lost friend, and they are with SHIELD remnants presently. Barton has been recovered, safe and for the most part unharmed. Stark is planning on punching Coulson, apparently, and I’m going to go.” He hesitated before saying, “Stark also believes we must reassemble the Avengers.”

On some level, Jane knew that was coming. With SHIELD gone for months now, the world was already falling into chaos. Everything was insane. The world was changing, and it was more dangerous. The only reason they hadn’t been attacked again was because Sora was now using the Berserker staff and Thor was Thor.

They would not be safe forever. And the world would not be safe until the there were people to protect it.

She’d known Thor was an Avenger when she married him. Jane knew that she shouldn’t have been too surprised.

“Then you need to go. Make sure that this isn’t too bad,” Jane said. She moved up from her chair, causing Nanna to jump out with a meow of annoyance. She took Erik from Darcy and moved over to her husband. “I’ll call Sora, ask her to come over.”

“Way ahead of you,” Darcy said, typing out a text.

“Thank you.” Thor sighed, leaning in to kiss her deeply, his hand moving to her hair. “I will stay in touch. And be back when I can.” His face softened as he took Erik gently in his arms, their son babbling as he held onto his hair. “As soon as I can.”

“You do what you have to do. We’ll be safe here with Sora and Darcy’s taser.” She shot him a weak smile before kissing him again and retaking Erik. The baby boy whined as he was pulled away from his father. “Daddy’s boy.”

Thor beamed briefly with pride before kissing her one last time. He moved into the yard, shooting them one last look before raising Mjolnir and flying away, into the sky, in the direction of New York. This was their life. Jane was just surprised that they had nearly a year of relaxation and domesticity before all of this. 

“So.” Darcy sighed as she looked back at her. “You alright?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.” Jane sat back down, rubbing her son’s back gently as she tried to get him to settle. Erik was whining unhappily, but rested his head against her chest. “Just… hoped we’d have more time.”

“Before you moved back?”

Jane knew that logically, they would have gone back to the States eventually. Thor had spoken with Stark multiple times recently, especially about locating Loki’s staff. Having little Erik there made him think about Loki and what had happened to him, and he believed that finding the staff would help lead them to the answers he wanted.

“Before everything,” Jane admitted, smoothing back her son’s hair. “I don’t want to leave my mom here. Or you and Sora. But I know we can’t stay here forever…”

“No. I don’t think you can.” Darcy was surprisingly quiet for a few minutes. “I’ll talk to Sora and see if she wants to keep the apartment. I kinda miss the States, it’ll be good to go back.”

Jane looked up sharply when she heard that. “You’re coming?” she asked.

“Well. Unless you don’t want me.” Darcy shifted uncomfortable, sipping at her glass of wine before looking back at her. “But, well, I kinda thought if you guys are going…”

“No. I want you there.” Jane’s voice was firm before she looked back over at her and asked, “Darce? Can I ask you something?”

“You just did, but go ahead.”

Jane hesitated, looking back down at the little boy falling asleep on her lap. “Why have you always stuck around?” she asked, looking back over at her. “You dropped out of college to stick with me. You followed me around half the world. You moved with me to London. Why?”

Darcy didn’t answer. Instead, she stroked Nanna’s back gently for a few minutes. The crackling fire was the only thing that broke the silence.

“You’re the only family I got,” Darcy said simply, looking back at her. “All of you. And I don’t want to lose that. My mom is a fucking psychotic bitch and my dad enables her, and… your mom is kinda more of a mom than anyone else has been.”

Jane reached out and took her hand, squeezing it. “Well. Good thing you’re stuck with all of us then.”

Darcy’s eyes were suspiciously bright, and she downed another glass of wine. “Cheers to that then. Maybe I can finish up my degree.”

“We’ll be there cheering for you when you do.”

“Can I get a vacation to Asgard for a present when that happens?” Darcy asked, raising an eyebrow. “Because we were kinda focused on you and labor instead of having fun, and I want to have fun there.”

Jane laughed before promising, “I’ll see what I can do. I promise we’ll go drinking on Asgard someday.”

Darcy only laughed, tilting her empty wine glass to Jane. “To the best boss ever. And the future drinking binge that even Asgard will fear.”

She could only imagine the chaos, but Asgard would probably need that fun.

* * *

 

It was their first anniversary, and Thor truly thought that it was the best he could remember.

“It’s kinda our only anniversary,” Jane pointed out in the guest bedroom of her mother’s house when he said so. “We’ve been married for a year.” She brushed her hair carefully, slipping in small earrings into both ears.

“It has been a good year though,” Thor protested from the floor. He was on his back, chuckling as he watched Erik on his stomach. He was tugging on Thor’s hair, endlessly fascinated by it. No matter who held him, Erik was pulling on their hair. “It’s something to be proud of.”

“One year of marriage and five months with a baby,” Jane pointed out, smiling softly when she looked down at Erik. They both tended to do that, just pause and look down at their son when they saw him. Even after five months, he was beautiful and fascinating to them both.

Erik squealed loudly when Thor rolled onto his own stomach to face his son, making a funny face at the baby boy. Bright baby laughter filled the room, and Jane shook her head fondly before leaning down to pick up Erik, pressing a kiss to his head.

“C’mon, we’ve got to go downstairs.” Jane raised an eyebrow at him. “Kinda rude to avoid our own anniversary and goodbye party.”

“Of course.” Thor moved to his feet, kissing his wife deeply. “One last party.”

In a week, they would be on a Stark jet to New York. Jane’s commitments to the Royal Observatory were over, and Stark had reassembled the Avengers. While Steve, Clint, and Natasha had chosen to live outside of the tower, Thor had taken Stark up on the offer of an apartment there, out of safety concerns regarding Jane and Erik.

Jane had agreed; especially when Tony had contacted her directly regarding both a lab for her in the tower to continue her research and an official title for Darcy so she could be put on the payroll. Sora had declined the invitation to London, but Darcy would be coming.

Everything was changing. Thor knew that was life. It would be a new start for them all. And it fit in some ways, that it started just after their first wedding anniversary.

The family of three headed down the stairs minutes later. The party was in full swing at that point, people chatting. Jill had only invited those close to them, including a few people who had been to the wedding. Thor’s eyes found the most important guests in moments – including the one he knew he needed to have a very important conversation with.

Sora was at the l-shaped couch on the far side, by the windows that looked out at the backyard. With her were Selvig and Ingrid Andersen, the two seemingly very comfortable together. Sora seemed far more comfortable than she’d been a few months earlier, if Darcy’s stories weren’t exaggerations.

“Mind if I take him?” Thor asked, holding his hands out to Jane.

Jane smiled and pressed a kiss to Erik’s head. “Want to go over to Daddy?”

Erik babbled as he was passed over to Thor, and Jane pressed a kiss to both of her boys’ cheeks before heading to speak with her mother. Jill would probably need some company tonight, considering the approaching move. Thor readjusted Erik on his hip, carrying him across the room to the two partial-Asgardians and his son’s namesake.

“Erik, Doctor Andersen,” Thor greeted, Erik settled happily on his hip. Erik’s eyes lit up when he saw Sora, babbling and reaching for her in an instant.

Considering how often Sora, Darcy, and Jill were around Erik, it wasn’t a surprise that Erik adored all three of them. His son was bright and beautiful and affectionate, and Thor laughed as Erik reached out for Sora immediately, Sora herself seeming to soften before his eyes.

Odin had only seen Erik once since their departure from Midgard. Logically, Thor knew that it was hard to travel realms with a baby. But emotionally, Thor could not deny that it did hurt for his son not to know his paternal family.

Sora beamed as she moved to her feet. “Oh, hello there, little prince,” she teased, taking the little boy and pressing a kiss to his head. Erik’s chubby little hand immediately went to her hair. “You and the hair. Of course, with your father’s hair, it’s not that much of a surprise…”

Ingrid grinned, releasing Selvig’s hand from his and moving to her feet, greeting Thor with a quick kiss to the cheek. “It is good to see you again, Thor,” she mentioned, grinning when she heard Sora speaking softly to the baby boy. “Oh, he’s your spitting image, isn’t he?”

“That has been what I have been told,” Thor confirmed with a laugh, grinning as he watched his son.

“With his genes, of course he would be beautiful,” Sora pointed out, chuckling as Erik tugged at her long hair, tied back in a careful French braid over the shoulder. “How about we go to Pappy, Erik? Hmm?” Sora hummed, pressing a kiss to the hair of the little boy before handing him over to Selvig on the couch.

Selvig’s face immediately softened. As shocked as he had been regarding Thor and Jane’s son’s name, he had accepted it, and had seemed to taken to heart the responsibility.

“Hello there,” Selvig chuckled, smiling softly when Ingrid plopped down next to him again. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Erik?”

As Erik babbled, Sora only smiled softly, winking at Thor before looking back down at her own daughter. Thor was sure that she was remembering a time when Ingrid had been that young and innocent and easy to protect.

To be completely honest, if Erik turned out half as good as Ingrid had, Thor would be more than proud.

“I believe Erik is in capable hands,” Thor mentioned, winking at Selvig. The double meaning was clear enough to Ingrid, who only snorted into her wine. “Walk with me?” Thor asked Sora, raising a brow at her.

“Of course.” Sora ruffled Erik’s hair before moving to her feet, following Thor through the house and into the backyard.

Sora lead the way to the koi pond after the sliding door closed behind them, tugging off her stilettos and putting her feet into the water. Thor did the same, leaning back and smiling quietly from his position.

He could see into the party from where he was sitting with Sora – Selvig and Ingrid with Erik, Darcy chatting happily with a few of Jill’s fellow artists, and Jane talking with her mother, who had been understandably teary about her daughter, more-or-less adoptive daughters, son-in-law and grandson leaving, even if she would visit often.

This was his family. This was a family he was more than grateful to have.

“You know you are still welcome to join us in New York,” Thor mentioned. “Stark will be paying for an apartment for Darcy. It has two bedrooms, and she has said she would love to have you.”

Sora shook her head firmly as she looked back over. “No, but thank you. I… I want to do something different.” She sighed softly before saying, “For the first time in years, I have answers. And I want to be able to move on. I do have plans.”

“Such as?” Thor asked Sora, raising a brow at her.

She shrugged. “Travel a bit. See the world more when I don’t have to be afraid of it as much.” She looked back at Thor before pointing out, “Did you know I’m almost a hundred and I’ve only been in Europe and North America? I want to see the other continents.”

Thor nodded in understanding. “And if you should ever need aid…”

“Trust me, you will be the first person I go to.” Sora hesitated, slipping a finger into the water before looking back at him. “I never thanked you. For seeking me out. Helping me.”

Thor’s eyes flickered to Erik, still with Selvig and Ingrid, laughing and babbling. “No thanks are needed,” he replied. “If anything, I owe you for your own aid.”

Sora smiled. “How about we say we helped each other and stop the mushiness?”

“I am more than fine with that.” Thor looked back at her before saying, “But should you ever wish to do something more than travel, than to explore… please reach out. I’ve had a few thoughts.”

“You thinking is not always a good thing.” She shot him a look. “And I’m not sure how much I can help with certain things.”

If he was right, Sora would be endlessly helpful with what he thought. But that was a thought for another day, a chain to tug on when Sora felt more settled.

After all, if she agreed with his thought, her life would be tied to the Avengers even more than it already was.

Thor shook his head with a laugh. “I think you underestimate yourself, Sora.” They had moved to their feet at that point, Sora tugging on her heels. Thor remained barefoot, still towering over her.

Sora scoffed slightly before looking back over and pointing out, “With HYDRA out there, it’s not safe or smart for me to set down too many roots. I know that you and Jane will be in New York. But I…” She looked back over before admitting, “For the first time, I _want_ to travel. Not just out of fear, to hide. I want to be able to explore and not be afraid. I’ll visit, of course. But I’m not ready to settle yet.”

“You know our home will always be open to you, Sora.” Thor reached out and squeezed her shoulder gently. “And should you ever change your mind…”

“You’ll be the first call I make.” Sora paused before moving forward and hugging him tightly.

Thor was taken aback for a brief second. But within a moment, he reached back out, hugging her tightly. “You know I’ll come for you. Any time.”

“I know.” Sora smiled softly as she looked back at him. “I won’t be defenseless though.”

“I pity any who dares go against you.”

Sora winked at him before saying, “Now, if you excuse me. I’m going to steal your son for a while.” She started walking to the doors, pausing as she looked back over. “Are you coming?”

“I will shortly,” Thor assured her, shooting her a reassuring smile. “I need to make a call.”

She only nodded, and Thor watched as she walked back into the house, closing the door behind her. Instead of going right for Erik, Sora moved to Jane and Jill, putting a hand on Jane’s arm. Jane laughed at something she said, moving to pull her into a hug.

This was his family. When he’d abdicated a year before, he had never expected this. He never would have expected shit to come from his banishment to Midgard. But Thor was grateful for it, despite the pain and loss.

He’d found his own family. And as he kept his phone to his ear, waiting patiently for an answer, Thor wanted to be sure that a path for Sora was available, should she want it.

Tony Stark’s voice came on the ninth ring. “Point Break, it’s been a while. What’s with the call?”

Thor didn’t waste time as he watched his family through the window. “I have a question,” he said simply. “What is the policy for recruiting new Avengers?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm amazed that we made it, but we did! Thor, Jane, and Erik are going back to the States with Darcy, Sora will be traveling around and causing chaos, and everything is well.
> 
> To be honest, if it wasn't for the support I got for this story, it would not have gotten finished. So thank you to everyone, and I'm super excited to move into the next story. 
> 
> Set the World on Fire will continue with We're Insane But Not Alone, coming as soon as possible. It'll be more of a stepping stone to lead into the next phase of sorts, but it will go back to Steve, Bucky, Natasha and Clint, Sharon, Sam, and the rest of the crew - including the Agents of SHIELD crew.


End file.
